On 11/22/17, Quady North’s “Steelhead Run” Viognier was named to the Wine Enthusiast’s List of Top 100 Wines of 2017, at #62. This year the staff at the Enthusiast made their selections from over 23,000 wines from 17 countries, narrowing the list down to the best of the best wines tasted. Only 7 wines from Oregon made the list, and the Quady North Steelhead Run Viognier was the only wine selected from Southern Oregon.
The wine was made by the winemaking team of Herb Quady, Brian Gruber and Nichole Schulte with fruit sourced from Ron and Laura Burley’s Steelhead Run Vineyard. Herb has been working with fruit from that vineyard since 2006. A portion of the wine was fermented in barrels made from Acacia wood, which contributed to the wine’s balanced texture and lovely aromatics. Reviewer Paul Gregutt wrote that the Viognier is: “Sharp and focused, with fine-tuned varietal expression, this wine is flat out loaded with rich fruit flavors. Orange, lime, pineapple and pear can be found, all beautifully polished. It’s ripe and precise without being bitter or hot, and a fine value as well” 93 points. Editor’s Choice
Ron and Laura Burley began planting their vineyard alongside the Applegate River in the mid 1990’s. They were viticultural pioneers, planting some of Oregon’s first Viognier. The variety has since become Southern Oregon’s flagship white variety, with many beautiful releases made annually by local wineries.
Quady North is dedicated to the production of small lot, expressive, vineyard select Viognier, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Rhone blends sourced from the estate and other carefully selected Southern Oregon Vineyards.