Best Buy! This second-generation operation, with a historical footprint that includes becoming the Rogue Valley’s first bonded winery created after Prohibition, creates an easy-drinking white using seven grapes, including Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer. The Wisnovskys bill Lot 25 as “semi-dry,” and it opens with aromas of Asian pear, dusty Jonagold apple, caramel, almond and … [Read more...] about Valley View Winery NV Rogue White, Oregon, $12
Oregon
Luminous Hills 2015 Aura Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton, $28
Seven of Hearts winemaker Byron Dooley stays close to home with his Luminous Hills brand, a lineup that spotlights his estate 12-acre vineyard northwest of McMinnville, Ore. This three-barrel lot from his L.I.V.E.-certified and Salmon Safe site spent eight months in neutral French oak and emerged bone-dry and fruity with a beautiful wardrobe. Aromas of dried cherry, white … [Read more...] about Luminous Hills 2015 Aura Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton, $28
Armonéa Wines 2014 Russell Grooters Vineyard Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton, $35
Dave Grooters and Robin Russell, longtime friends of Ken Wright, planted their 23-acre vineyard along Savannah Ridge in 2003, and it is the focus of Grooters’ Carlton Cellars Cape Lookout program. That RGV fruit radiates here in the hands of Armonea winemaker Alberto Alcazar, Wright’s longtime cellarmaster. Its light cherry color doesn’t mislead, bringing aromas of dusty Bing … [Read more...] about Armonéa Wines 2014 Russell Grooters Vineyard Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton, $35
Silvan Ridge Winery 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, Rogue Valley, $28
A background that includes winemaking at several of Oregon’s most acclaimed wineries — Dobbes Family Estate, Soter and Willamette Valley Vineyards — helps explain how J.P. Valot continues to build upon Silvan Ridge’s reputation with delicious reds. The juice from this bucolic winery in Eugene began a couple hours south in the Rogue Valley. Bright and lively aromas of … [Read more...] about Silvan Ridge Winery 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, Rogue Valley, $28
Valley View Winery 2013 Anna Maria Sauvignon Blanc, Rogue Valley, $22
The prior vintage by longtime Southern Oregon winemaker John Guerrero earned a spot on the New York Times Reserve Wine Club, and Valley View’s current release stacks up alongside its older sister. It brings a classic nose of gooseberry and lime, notes joined by starfruit, peach skin and a hint of oak. There’s complexity on the palate, starting with a creaminess of banana before … [Read more...] about Valley View Winery 2013 Anna Maria Sauvignon Blanc, Rogue Valley, $22