Janet Eastman at the Festival of the Virgin of the Vines

Tempranillo may still be unpronounceable or unknown to most wine drinkers, but to some wine pros, it’s the future.

A growing number of growers and winemakers believe “Temp-ra-knee-oh” could rise from the pack and become a signature varietal of Southern Oregon.

It’s fast ripening, packed with intense flavors and a kick of tannins, and can hold its own against bold meats and strong cheeses. Plus, climate conditions here match that of Tempranillo’s birthplace, Spain.

And the grape has an enthusiastic fan base.

Judges for this year’s Southern Oregon World of Wine Festival declared RoxyAnn’s 2008 Tempranillo the Best in Show for red wines. The owners of Red Lily Vineyards based their business on the intense red wine. And Rob Folin is growing the grape for his Folin Cellars label and to sell to God King Slave Wines and other producers.

Tempranillo has been thriving in the state since Earl and Hilda Jones of Abacela planted it in 1995.

In September, Earl Jones and seven other wine supporters ventured to Spain’s Ribera del Duero to learn how students enrolled in Umpqua Community College’s enology and viticulture programs could spend time learning the Old World approach.

The group, members of Roseburg’s Sister City program, returned optimistic that a student exchange program will be established and that there will be other give-and-takes over the years.

That news makes Folin happy: “Tempranillo is Southern Oregon’s Pinot noir,” he says. “We all know how the Willamette is on par with Burgundy, so it is our turn to show Spain what we can do.”

Paella and Tempranillo

The Gold Hill grape grower and winemaker is hoping that a successful Spanish winery – a Vega Sicilia, Tinto Pesquera, Vina Pedrosa, PradoRey – sets up shop here and catapults Oregon Tempranillo to the next stratosphere. “If not, Southern Oregon could go solo,” he says.
“I would be willing to bet that as Southern Oregon’s Tempranillo vines get older, we will

Janet Eastman at the Festival in Spain

produce wines with great structure and complexity that will rival Spain,” says Folin. “Even now, the wines are getting close.”

The thing about Tempranillo

We asked three local winemakers to tell us why they chose Tempranillo from the thousands of varietals on the planet and their opinion on what best to serve it with:

• Rob Folin says his experience has shown that Tempranillo’s 01 clone makes the darkest, most concentrated wine but yields are inconsistent. The 03 clone delivers on volume, but isn’t as big. When he combines the two, “the result is fantastic,” he says.
Folin pairs Oregon Tempranillo with truffle and morel mushroom risotto. “That pairing will blow your mind, guaranteed,” he says. “If you can’t wait for morel-truffle season, any mushroom dish will work. Of course, paella is always a safe bet if you can wait the 30 minutes to make it.”

• Rachael Martin of Red Lily jokes that she could be ready to go back to Spain with five minutes’ notice. Martin and her husband, Les, were inspired to make only Tempranillo in the Applegate Valley after they fell in love with the wine’s complexity, depth and flavor during a trip to Ribera del Duero 15 years ago.

“We had a wine by the name of Numanthia that will forever be etched in my palate memory,” recalls Martin. “It was a 100% Tempranillo made from 100-plus-year-old vines. The wine was dense, lush, layered, pure perfection in the bottle.”

In Spain, they drank Tempranillo with the region’s Castilian specialty, roasted milk-fed lamb. Here, they enjoy it at the Jacksonville Inn restaurant with bacon-wrapped venison and at Elements Tapas Bar in Medford with a roasted beet salad.
• Christine Collier and Chris Jiron launched their Jacksonville winery God King Slave with the released of their 2009 Syrah-Tempranillo in August.

“Chris’ family is of Spanish heritage, so that was one of the motivators in choosing Tempranillo,” says Collier. “But for me, being from the Willamette Valley, I was very attracted to Tempranillo because of its similarities to Pinot noir.”

She describes Southern Oregon’s version of Tempranillo as a medium-bodied wine with earthy, dusty and dried fruit characteristics, “all the notes that get me excited about Pinot noir.”

Collier recalls an “epiphany moment” after enjoying Tempranillo with a stuffed quail dish at a Folin Cellars wine dinner. Her favorite dish with Tempranillo is anything accented with mushrooms or “gamier” meats, lamb or pork. She adds: “Chris would probably say his favorites are the traditional Spanish dishes his dad prepares with spicy sausage, the ones that make my eyes water.”

WOW Leadership

WOW Tent for the Grand Tasting at Bigham Knoll

A lot has changed with the World of Wine Festival since Lee Mankin and two friends started the party nine years ago to put the spotlight on grapes grown in Southern Oregon.

The first gathering was a potluck. The most recent one in August was a catered affair for more than 700 people at Bigham Knoll.
The Grand Tasting, which included more than 60 wineries pouring award-winning vintages, was preceded by three days of wine-centric events: a reception, sensory classes and a chef-competition dinner. There is talk about expanding the festival even more by including more restaurants and vineyard tours.

Looking toward the future, Mankin has decided to retire as WOW’s chairman. Replacing him are Les Martin, who has overseen the judging for five years, and David Jesser.

“It takes two to replace me,” jokes Mankin, who will spend the winter in France while WOW’s executive committee lays out plans for the 2012 festival.“I will return when things start waking up in the vineyard,” says Mankin, who grows Syrah, Petite Sirah and Roussanne grapes on his 42-acre Carpenter Hill Vineyard in Medford.

Janet Eastman writes for national publications and is the wine columnist for the Medford Mail Tribune. Her work can be seen at www.janeteastman.com