Valley View Winery is a

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

in the Applegate Valley AVA in

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 Jackson may refer to: People and fictional charac ...

, United States, founded in 1972.

History

The original Valley View Vineyard was started by photographer

Peter Britt Peter Britt (Obstalden, Canton of Glarus, Switzerland 12 March 1819 - Jacksonville, Oregon, 3 October 1905) was a Swiss portrait painter and American pioneer photographer, meteorologist, accomplished horticulturist, an early settler and developer ...

in 1854 and was located in the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

town of

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

in the

Rogue Valley The Rogue Valley is a valley region in southwestern Oregon in the United States. Located along the middle Rogue River (Oregon), Rogue River and its tributaries in Josephine County, Oregon, Josephine and Jackson County, Oregon, Jackson counties, t ...

. Britt produced wines under the Valley View label until his death in 1906. In 1971, Frank Wisnovsky and his family purchased in the Applegate Valley and planted of grapes in the spring of 1972. In 1974, Valley View planted more. The original of vineyards consisted of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot noir and

Gewürztraminer Gewürztraminer () is an aromatic wine grape variety, used in white wines, and performs best in cooler climates. In English, it is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz (; although this is never the case in German, because "Gewürz" me ...

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

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the eas ...

. In 1980, Frank Wisnovsky died in a drowning accident at Lost Creek Lake. He is survived by wife Ann along with their daughter Joanne and their sons Robert, Mark and Michael. The winery won a Double Gold medal for the 1990 Chardonnay in the World Wine Championships in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

, 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. Syrah, Viognier and the Spanish variety

Tempranillo Tempranillo (also known as Ull de Llebre, Cencibel, Tinto Fino and Tinta del Pais in Spain, Aragonez or Tinta Roriz in Portugal, and several other synonyms elsewhere) is a black grape variety widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its ...

are currently the main focus, along with

late harvest wine Late harvest wine is wine 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 ...

s including a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

-style wine.

Winemakers

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

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.

References

{{coord , 42.225353 , -123.047385 , type:landmark_region:US-OR_source:googlemaps_dim:700 , display=title Buildings and structures in Jackson County, Oregon Wineries in Oregon Food and drink companies established in 1972 1972 establishments in Oregon Companies based in Jackson County, Oregon