Wine lovers get new tasting options

Rogue Valley wine-sampling opportunities continue to grow with the opening of two new tasting rooms.

Quady North of the Applegate Valley has one at 255 E. California St., Jacksonville. EdenVale of Medford has opened Enoteca at 17 N. Main St., Ashland.

The Jacksonville facility features the wines of both Quady North and the original Quady winery in California. Winemaker Herb Quady's parents launched their winery in Madera, Calif., in 1975. It focuses on dessert wines.

So if you order a flight of wines at this room, it will include aperitif and table wines from Quady North, as well as dessert wines from the original Quady.

On the day I stopped by, they were pouring Quady North's 2006 Rose, Viognier and Syrah, along with Essensia and Elysium. The first of the two dessert wines is made from orange Muscat, the second from black Muscat. My favorites were the viognier and Elysium.

The shop stocks 14 different wines from the two wineries. Prices range generally from $11 to $35. The tasting fee for a flight is $5, refundable with purchase. Hours are 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. daily except Tuesday.

Enoteca by EdenVale is in a two-story building on the Ashland Plaza at 17 N. Main St. Its theme is: visit a number of wineries at one location. The room stocks wines from wineries other than EdenVale, among them Weisinger's, Slagle Creek, Pebblestone, Agate Ridge, Spangler, Volcano and Carpenter Hill. Agate Ridge is in Eagle Point, Slagle Creek in the Applegate and Spangler in Winston, so you'd burn up a lot of miles to visit in person.

A flight of six wines costs $10, and food is available. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday and Monday.

I visited Enoteca during A Taste of Ashland. The room, appropriately, was formerly a stop on that tour when it housed the Ashland Hardwood Gallery. While not an "official" stop this year, it was open for tasting.

A Taste of Ashland was again a grand event this year. My report on it is scheduled for the next column.

PACIFIC WINE CLUB will host a wine-tasting to benefit the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life on Friday, May 15. Hours are 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the club store, 3588 Heathrow Way, Medford. Cost is $20.

FIFTEEN APPLEGATE VALLEY wineries plan another "uncorked" event from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 17. Visitors can sample appetizers paired with wines at each stop. Tickets are $39. Call 800-781-9463 or check www.applegatewinetrail.com.

THERE'S ZIN, AND THEN there's zin. Ravenswood of Sonoma, Calif., makes three old-vine zinfandels, varying by region and price: Napa Valley ($18), Sonoma County ($15) and Lodi ($12). They make for interesting comparisons.

The Napa wine is bold and rich but loses something after being open a day. The Sonoma zin has character and is pleasant, becoming sweeter on day three. The Lodi version, the cheapest, seems not as complex but OK at first. Then it improves — delicious by day three or four.

Another zin from Lodi you see around a lot is Seven Deadly Zins. The 2007 release, which sells for $17, didn't measure up to any of the Ravenswood wines — for me, at least. It seemed overly fruity and musty.

ALSO SAMPLED RECENTLY:

Duck Pond 2007 Wahluke Slope Columbia Valley Chardonnay. This Oregon winery (Dundee-Newberg area) has made good, inexpensive chardonnay for years. The latest, made from grapes grown in Washington state, is one of the best yet — fruity and crisp. I paid $6.78 at Food 4 Less.
Kendall-Jackson 2007 Vintner's Reserve Riesling ($12). It's a good one, fruity but not overly sweet, gentle and pleasant, at times reminiscent of a pinot gris.
Kendall-Jackson 2005 Vintner's Reserve Meritage ($17). The wine is 51 percent cabernet sauvignon, 46 percent merlot, 3 percent cabernet franc. It may seem bitter at first, but wait it out. It's much better on day two.
Sycamore Lane Chardonnay. A number of Rogue Valley restaurants (including the Brick and Zen Zen in Central Point) have started pouring this California white as a house wine, for $4 to $4.50 a glass. It's better than Copperidge — not bad at all.