Tasting room offers a wide variety

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South Stage Cellars of Jacksonville is a wine-tasting room with a difference. It showcases wines made by several Oregon wineries using grapes grown by Don and Traute Moore of Talent. It also features the South Stage label the Moores use for wines made specifically for them.

Traute Moore calls it a "vineyard-based tasting room with wines from a number of winemakers who use our grapes rather than featuring only wines from one winemaker." They consider Joe Dobbes to be their primary winemaker, but they like to show the winemaking styles that can evolve when different winemakers work with the same fruit.

Sometimes they'll have customers do a blind tasting of the same varietal from two winemakers and then discuss the differences. Results are often 50-50, she says, "which shows that there is no right answer and individual taste is the most important thing."

The efforts made by Dobbes on behalf of the South Stage label will be showcased during a winemaker's dinner at the Jacksonville Inn set for 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21. Five Dobbes wines will be paired with a dinner of the same number of courses.

Wines to be featured are:

• Alchemy, a blend of cabernet sauvignon, carmenere and tempranillo, aged in French oak for two years.
• Early muscat, Best of Show White winner at this year's World of Wine in Gold Hill.
• Chardonnay, the winery's just-released 2008 vintage.
• Monte Rosa, a blend of sangiovese, dolcetto and grenache.
• Bliss, a French sauterne, made of semillon and sauvignon blanc.

The dinner has since sold out, but South Stage says another may be scheduled.

The Moores and their South Stage Cellars label also have become clients of the new Pallet Wine Company custom-crush winery in downtown Medford and will have several wines made there.

"We've been very impressed by what Pallet has been able to accomplish in a short period of time, and partner Linda Donovan has made such fine wine for us and others in the past," says Traute Moore.

Pallet reports that it expects to process more than 180 tons of grapes this fall, well ahead of first-year projections.

Other initial Pallet clients include Slagle Creek Vineyards, Madrone Mountain and Soloro Vineyards from the Applegate Valley; and new Southern Oregon brands Philanthropie and Footstone Jive Wines & Vines.

The South Stage Cellars tasting room is at 125 S. Third St., Jacksonville.

THE PACIFIC WINE CLUB of Medford will feature more than 50 wines at its annual Holiday Extravaganza, set for 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20. Finger foods will accompany the wines.

The site is the club's store at 3588 Heathrow Way, Medford. Tickets in advance are $25 for members, $30 for non-members. They're $5 higher at the door, if any are still available. Call 245-3334.

THE ARTISAN TASTING ROOM, a joint venture of Daisy Creek Vineyard and Madrone Mountain Winery, will celebrate the release of Madrone Mountain's 2008 Starthistle Cuvée from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28.

The latest Starthistle is a blend of riesling (59 percent), huxelrebe (37 percent), viognier (3 percent) and sauvignon blanc (1 percent). It retails for $24.

The celebration will feature free tastings as well as food. Wines by the glass and bottle will be available for purchase.

The tasting room is at 245-A Front St., between the Rogue Creamery and Lillie Belle Farms Chocolate. It's open daily from noon to 5 p.m.

FIFTEEN APPLEGATE VALLEY wineries will take part in the annual "Applegate Valley Uncorked" from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22. At each stop, patrons can sample appetizers paired with wines.

Tickets are $39 and include a commemorative Riedel glass as well as tasting at all 15 stops. They're available online at www.applegatewinetrail.com. For more information, call Troon at 846-9900, Valley View, 899-8468 or Wooldridge Creek, 846-6364.

A BARGAIN: Our Oct. 28 column spoke highly of Valley View's 2005 Anna Maria Claret. It originally sold for $24 a bottle, but the price has been dropping.

Mark Wisnovsky of Valley View reports that the price at the winery is now $20, but can be as low as $12.50 if purchased by the case. It is also available in the $12-$13 range at stores like Costco, Shop N Kart, the Jacksonville Inn and the Ashland Food Co-op.

Cleve Twitchell is a retired Mail Tribune editor and columnist. E-mail him at clevelinda@msn.com

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