Why Not Here?

Ranch at the Canyons, Terrebonne, Oregon

Like most of us, I love living in Central Oregon.  But there is one thing I still miss about my old life in San Francisco.  In a little over an hour, I could be in the heart of wine country.  In just a few hours, I could visit several wineries, tour their vineyards, sample their wines and chat with the winemaker or owner and still be home for dinner. 

Why can’t we do that here?  After all, we live in an area where lots of other crops grow.  We have innovative entrepreneurs.  We have Oregon State University extension agents.  So, where are the wineries?  Why don’t we have a wine industry?

The simple answer is:  “The weather.”  The more complete answer is that the weather is so challenging that we’re going to have to be extra innovative and extra creative.  And really, really patient.

The fact is that we already have a couple local wineries.  And we have dozens of folks with vines in the ground.  Unfortunately, it is going to take a while until we figure out where the best microclimates are and what the best-suited grapes are.  But it won’t take as long as it could have, thanks to the vision of our local extension agent, Mylen Bohle, and the willingness of our local wine pioneers to share their experiences and hard-won knowledge.

About a year ago, Bohle started an informal working group, made up of folks throughout Central Oregon who all had one thing in common – wine grapevines in the ground (fortunately for me, my two vines qualified me!).

In addition to Bohle, the other leaders of the group are Kerry Damon, who has been growing vines near Terrebonne at Ranch at the Canyons for 3-4 years and Doug Maragas of Maragas Winery in Bend (tasting room) and Culver (winery).  Maragas has been making and bottling wine in Oregon for about five years.  He has generally purchased his grapes from California and western and southern Oregon.  However, in the last couple of years, he has started planting grapes at his winery near Terrebonne. 

Everyone is watching Damon and Maragas’ vines closely to see how they do in our unpredictable and short growing season.  It’s been said of Central Oregon:  “We get 89 frost-free days.  Unfortunately, they are not consecutive.”  Most wine grapes need a lot of sun and plenty of warm weather.  And they need to be protected from frost, especially when the vines are first budding out in the spring.  They need a summer that is long enough to allow the fruit to fully develop and ripen.

Because our summers are not predictably and consistently warm, success will depend upon learning what grapes are best suited to our climate and what microclimates in our region are best suited to grow wine grapes.

Doug Maragas is well on his way to figuring this all out.  He believes his plot of land near Terrebonne (and just a few miles from Ranch at the Canyons, where Damon cultivates his vines) is warmer and better protected from cold than much of Central Oregon.  To figure out what grapes grow best there, he has planted 16 different varieties on a one-acre plot.  He and Damon regularly consult on what works and what doesn’t.  It will be another couple of years before they have a more definitive answer, but the great thing for those of us who love wine is that they are both very generous in sharing what they have learned.  The hope is that their efforts will inspire others to jump in.  Maybe someday we’ll have our own wine region, right here in Central Oregon.

In the meantime, whet your appetite for Central Oregon wine by trying some of these great Maragas wines that were made here (even if the grapes were born elsewhere).  I have found all of these wines locally at various times.

-“Legal Zin” (approximately $16) is a delicious, fruity zinfandel that’s very smooth.  The name is a play on the fact that Maragas gave up his law practice to make wine.

-“Pinot Riche” (approximately $14) is light and fruity and perfect for enjoying outside in the really hot days of summer.

-“Kool Kat Muscat” ($15) is a lovely, slightly sweet Muscat that is perfect with dessert, or even by itself as dessert. 

Another local winery, Volcano Vineyards of Bend, makes some very good syrah and merlot.  Look for their wines locally, especially the Red Blend ($19), which is made from merlot, syrah and viognier (the latter of which is actually a white win