Valley View Winery is a winery in the Applegate Valley AVA

Applegate Valley AVA

The Applegate Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in southern Oregon. It is entirely contained within the Rogue Valley AVA, which is itself included within the larger Southern Oregon AVA. The region is named for the Applegate River, which flows through the town of Applegate and...

 in Southern Oregon

Southern Oregon

Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range, excluding the southern Oregon Coast. Counties include Douglas, Jackson, Klamath, and Josephine. It includes the Southern Oregon American Viticultural Area, which consists of the...

, United States. Started in 1972, Valley View is one of the oldest wineries in Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

. Best known for producing a wide variety of wines, Valley View is noted for pioneering Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

 varieties in Oregon.

History

The original Valley View Vineyard was started by pioneer photographer Peter Britt in 1860 and was located in the gold rush

Gold rush

A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...

 town of Jacksonville

Jacksonville, Oregon

Jacksonville is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, a few miles west of Medford. It was named for Jackson Creek, which runs through the community and was the site of one of the first placer gold claims in the area. It includes Jacksonville Historic District which was designated a U.S....

 in the Rogue Valley

Rogue Valley

The Rogue Valley is a farming and timber-producing region in southwestern Oregon in the United States. Located along the middle Rogue River and its tributaries in Josephine and Jackson counties, the valley forms the cultural and economic heart of Southern Oregon near the California border. The...

. Valley View Vineyard was the first winery in Oregon. Peter Britt produced wines under the Valley View label until his death in 1919. In 1971, Frank Wisnovsky and his family purchased 76 acres (307,561.4 m²) in the Applegate Valley and planted 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) of grapes in the spring of 1972. In 1974, Valley View planted 14 acres (56,656 m²) more. The original 26 acres (105,218.4 m²) of vineyards consisted of Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

, Merlot

Merlot

Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...

, Chardonnay

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...

, Pinot noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...

 and Gewürztraminer

Gewürztraminer

Gewürztraminer is an aromatic wine grape variety that performs best in cooler climates. It is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz, and in French it is written '...

. Valley View’s first two vintages, which consisted of Cabernet Sauvignon, were produced by Tualatin Vineyard in the Willamette Valley

Willamette Valley

The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...

. In 1980, Frank Wisnovsky died in a drowning accident at Lost Creek Lake

Lost Creek Lake

Lost Creek Lake is a reservoir located on the Rogue River in Jackson County, Oregon, USA. The lake is impounded by William L. Jess Dam which was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1977 for flood control. The lake and dam were the first completed elements of the multi-purpose Rogue...

. He is survived by wife Ann along with their daughter Joanne and their sons Robert, Mark and Michael.

Through the years Valley View has won numerous national and international awards including a Double Gold medal for the 1990 Chardonnay in the World Wine Championships in Ljubljana

Ljubljana

Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...

, Slovenia. With the 1990 vintage the winery began using the Anna Maria label for its best wines in honor of the founding mother Ann Wisnovsky.

Winemakers

Valley View has had four winemakers in its 35 years. University of California, Davis

University of California, Davis

The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...

 graduate Guy Ruhland was winemaker for the 1978 and 1979 vintages. John Eagle was winemaker from 1979 to 1982, and Rob Stewart from 1982 to 1984. In 1985, John Guerrero, a new graduate from UC Davis, became Valley View’s fourth winemaker in six years and has been with Valley View ever since. He is now in his 26th year as winemaker and is one of the most award winning winemakers in Oregon history.http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070418/LIFE/704180325/-1/LIFE0701

Wines

Valley View is most known for its pioneering efforts in producing Bordeaux varieties and blends. However in recent years Syrah, Viognier

Viognier

Viognier is a white wine grape. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu in the Rhone valley.-History:The origin of the Viognier grape is unknown. Viognier is presumed to be an ancient grape, possibly originating in Dalmatia and then brought to Rhône by the Romans. One legend...

 and the Spanish variety Tempranillo

Tempranillo

Tempranillo is a variety of black grape widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its native Spain. It is the main grape used in Rioja, and is often referred to as Spain's "noble grape". Its name is the diminutive of the Spanish temprano , a reference to the fact that it ripens several weeks...

 have become the major focus along with late harvest wine

Late harvest wine

Late harvest is a term applied to wines made from grapes left on the vine longer than usual. Late harvest is usually an indication of a sweet dessert wine, such as late harvest Riesling. Late harvest grapes are often more similar to raisins, but have been naturally dehydrated while on the vine...

s including a port

Port wine

Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties...

-style wine.