Wine tastings Tuesday through Sunday 11-4
» 90+ Points from Wine Spectator
» Food & Wine Magazine
» Kramer Kudos
» Summer Whites
» First Reserve rates 92
» Sunset Wine Awards
» Pure Grenache
» Tasting Notes Contest
» Voodoo Vintners?
» Que Syrah 74
» Co-op cork drop
» The Vino File
» Roll out the barrels
Cowhorn Awarded 90 & 91 Points from Wine Spectator
2010 Viognier – 90 Points: “Polished, silky and effusive in its expression of spicy pear, flowers and lemon meringue flavors. Finishes with style. Drink now. 125 cases made.” –HS
2008 Reserve Syrah – 91 Points: “Spacious style lets its blackberry and black cherry flavors expand nicely against streaks of mineral and pepper, coming together smoothly on the ripe but contained finish. Drink now through 2015. 150 cases made.” –HS
2010 Viognier – 90 Points: “Polished, silky and effusive in its expression of spicy pear, flowers and lemon meringue flavors. Finishes with style. Drink now. 125 cases made.” –HS
2008 Reserve Syrah – 91 Points: “Spacious style lets its blackberry and black cherry flavors expand nicely against streaks of mineral and pepper, coming together smoothly on the ripe but contained finish. Drink now through 2015. 150 cases made.” –HS
Food & Wine Magazine Calls Spiral 36
“One of Oregon’s Top Wines.”
“Cowhorn concentrates on Rhone variety grapes, an unusual choice for an Oregon winery. Its substantial blend of Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne gets a spicy lift from several months of aging in French oak barrels.” – Ray Isle
“One of Oregon’s Top Wines.”
“Cowhorn concentrates on Rhone variety grapes, an unusual choice for an Oregon winery. Its substantial blend of Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne gets a spicy lift from several months of aging in French oak barrels.” – Ray Isle
"And, Not Least, Get Relaxed – Don’t let wine jocks make you feel insecure. Sure, we writers get all lathered-up about delightful bits of esoterica (right now I’m excited by the biodynamic wines of tiny Cowhorn Vineyard and Garden in the Applegate Valley of southern Oregon). It’s what we do. We’re supposed to be on the prowl, ever lustful for the latest triumph…"- Matt Kramer, Wine Spectator, July 2011
June brings the return of our perennially popular Spiral 36, and the first release of SULLIVAN/STEELE Sauvignon Blanc,
a cooperative wine produced in partnership with Terry Sullivan's Upper Five, the Rogue wine region's only other certified organic vineyard.Spiral lovers take note. Last year's shorter-than-normal growing season resulted in fruit of exceptional quality, but here's the crush. In the grand economy of Nature, higher quality meant lower quantity, by almost a third, resulting less Spiral 36 than ever before.
Club members get first dibs on both wines, followed by Grapevine subscribers, and our favorite markets and fine dining spots serving the Pacific Northwest's emerging eco-culinary scene. We'll keep some on hand at our Applegate Valley tasting room as long as possible.
» 2010 COWHORN Spiral 36 Tasting Notes
» 2010 SULLIVAN/STEELE Sauvignon Blanc Tasting Notes
Our first Reserve Syrah was produced with grapes so divinely dark that they gleamed like little black pearls as they passed through our fingers on the harvest line. We just received word that it was awarded 92 points by Wine Enthusiast magazine. Laurie Daniel at the San Jose Mercury News wrote that our first Reserve "is plump and lively, with flavors of blackberry, blueberry, a note of roasted coffee and firm structure."
While we expect a few cases to find their way to some of your favorite foodie meccas in Oregon and California, now is your best chance to cellar away a bottle or three of COWHORN history in the tasting. In true Old World style, an hour or two in the decanter will bring forward flavors so full that you will savor every last sip.
» Order 2008 Reserve Syrah
Sunset magazine just notified us that three of our wines have been nominated for the annual Sunset Western Wine Awards. Our
Viognier
and Spiral
in the Good Value category and our 2008 Reserve in the Special Occasion category.The Sunset Western Wine Awards are recognized as one of the highest honors for Western winemakers and focus solely on wines produced in the West. Judging to start mid June. We will keep you posted.
This year, we are only releasing 50 cases of pure Grenache. The 2009 Grenache 80 is a refined follow-up to the rich, unfiltered 2008 Grenache 74 that became something of a "rockstar" in its own right around the Rogue Wine Country. COWHORN fans in California might find a few bottles at finer wine shops and restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles.
Club members will receive this delicious red in the May shipment. For all others, it's first come first serve. For Rogue locals, we're holding back a supply available at our Applegate Valley tasting room. We're by appointment only, so please call before you come.
» Order online
» Tasting Room Appointment
Love musing on your favorite wines? We do too. Discover your inner wine writer and win a night at the Ashland Springs Hotel in a contest designed to give us a taste of your translation of our Biodynamic Rhône-style wines.
Try your pen at writing the poetic prose of a carefully crafted paragraph describing one, or all, of our current releases. Multiple musings will improve your odds of winning this wonderful one-night getaway for two.
» Learn more and enter the contest
When we first heard the title of Katherine Cole’s new book, we must admit that we did a double take. Due out this summer from OSU Press, Katherine tells us that Voodoo Vintners demystifies Biodynamic winemaking to reveal the science behind the stereotype.
According to OSU Press, the provocatively titled paperback will explore how cowhorns, vortexes and the vision of Rudolf Steiner may hold the key to producing some of the finest wines in the world while simultaneously promoting an agricultural system that can help save it.
» Read more
We'd like to thank SilverKing in the CellarTracker Community for a 94 rating and beautiful review of our 2008 Syrah 74. Here's what the king had to say on the subject...The Cowhorn Syrah from 2007 was my favorite Syrah from that vintage in Southern Oregon. The 2008 Syrah 74, (74 for the number of days of frost at the vineyard), may eclipse that. I tasted this right after it was released last year and I think it has improved since then. This bottle was at room temperature and allowed to breath for 30 minutes before tasting.
The wine is a deep dark purple, light barely filters through it is so dense. The nose is effusive, earthy and dark berry fruit, roasted meats , tobacco and cedar. This nose reminds me of a well aged Cote-Rotie, something hard achieve this far from the Rhone. The palette is a sweet blast of fruit, raspberry and strawberry with a great acidic, tannic finish. The wine is in perfect balance it will be in harmony by itself or with any rich food . It will even get better with more bottle age, but I doubt if I can wait that long. 94, buy it before its gone.
» Order 2008 Syrah 74
In a complementary program, the Ashland Food Co-op, Southern Oregon’s first and only Certified Organic retailer, has partnered with COWHORN, the Rogue Wine Region’s first and only Certified Biodynamic® estate winery, to convert used corks into reusable, compostable wine packs guaranteed to contain a minimum of 99% recycled content.
» Read DailyTidings article
A biodynamic producer from Southern Oregon's Applegate Valley is producing one of the best domestic viogniers I have ever tasted. There is an intense minerality that is completely balanced by a rather sunny layer of orchard fruit. Underlying all of this is a savoriness that makes it a rather serious wine with immense appeal. This producers syrah should be taken quite seriously as well, really a spectacular group of wines, and this one is only $30.
From bistro tables to bird houses, used wine barrels offer a super stylish way to reduce, reuse and recycle. Each summer we’ve been happy to see about 10 to 15 Cowhorn barrels get a second lease on life at new homes around the Rogue.
As Cowhorn continues to grow, we will have more beautiful old barrels to roll out each summer. This year, we expect to have closer to 30 barrels available for purchase for $35 each, or two for $50. Such a deal!
Barrels are available on a first come, first serve basis. So if you know you want one (or two), please be sure to say so when you make your appointment for a tasting and tour of the estate .
And if you’re inspired to send us photos of your barrel’s new life as an ice chest or a dog house, we’d love to see them!
