10 Biodynamic Wines We Dig
Wednesday | 01 September 2010
For the unfamiliar, the philosophies behind biodynamic winemaking can seem a little too left of center. Biodynamic farmers take a holistic approach, work their land based on the lunar calendar and use miniscule amounts of fermented herbs and manure in place of chemical fertilizers. The principles behind biodynamic farming were born out of the 1924 lectures of philosopher and scientist Rudolf Steiner who believed that healthier crops come from nourishing the entire ecosystem around a plant, not just the plant itself. Today, winemakers are among the many farmers around the world that are taking Steiner’s methods more seriously.
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Winery goes beyond organic
Friday | 13 August 2010
Family farm invests in recycling, reuse of its waste products
By Craig Reed
JACKSONVILLE, Ore. -- Don't toss that wine bottle cork into the trash. Or the soft metal bottle cap. And save the bottle.
The cork and bottle can be reused. The metal can be recycled.
That's the message Bill and Barbara Steele are preaching as they attempt to establish a closed loop system that creates a self-supporting environment at their Cowhorn Vineyard and Garden.
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By Craig Reed
JACKSONVILLE, Ore. -- Don't toss that wine bottle cork into the trash. Or the soft metal bottle cap. And save the bottle.
The cork and bottle can be reused. The metal can be recycled.
That's the message Bill and Barbara Steele are preaching as they attempt to establish a closed loop system that creates a self-supporting environment at their Cowhorn Vineyard and Garden.
See full news report...
Two blends go far beyond the average
Sunday | 01 August 2010
By Matt Kramer
When you talk to winemakers, many of them -- most, even -- love making blended wines. It allows them to exercise, if not artistry (it is just wine, after all), then a certain amount of exacting craft. Not surprisingly, many are called to the business of blending, but relatively few are among the chosen who can pull it off to a high luster. The two wines to follow achieve such a blending standard.
Cowhorn Spiral 36 White Table Wine "Applegate Valley" 2009 -- You can make a pretty strong case that the hardest wines to find -- at a palatable price, anyway -- are distinctive dry white wines. We're awash in too many dry white wines that are, well, stupid.
This is why when you taste a dry white that might be described as "intelligent," you're delighted. Cowhorn Spiral 36 White Table Wine 2009 from southern Oregon's Applegate Valley is more than intelligent -- it's in the near-genius category.
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Stomping its footprint
Thursday | 22 July 2010
By Mariana Silva
Barbara and Bill Steele knew just what to do when their eyes glanced over a drop-dead gorgeous abandoned property in Applegate Valley, Ore.
Reflecting their lifestyle and their green mindset the couple made Cowhorn Vineyard & Gardens a sustainable farm, where they grow organic certified fruits, vegetables and nuts, and make wines. They send corks and empty bottles to recycling, turn organic waste into compost and give compost back to the ground, wasting as little as they possibility can.
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Pacific Northwest rosés perfect for the season
Wednesday | 30 June 2010
By Paul Gregutt
If there is a more versatile, summertime wine than a chilled, dry rosé, I haven’t found it.
These wines have become more and more popular in recent years, both as by-the-glass restaurant pours and no-fuss picnic wines suitable for any outdoors occasion.
They come in a rainbow of colors from around the world. But living in the Pacific Northwest, we have the rare luxury of choosing from dozens of Washington and Oregon rosés, made in limited quantities and available for a few weeks in the spring and summer.
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Fine pours for picnics
Tuesday | 25 May 2010
By Kimberly Paley
2010 Spring Wine Guide
2009 Cowhorn Spiral 36 White Table Wine, Applegate Valley: This is great picnic food, warm or cold. The chicken (a recipe from chef Adam Sappinton's granny) is a winner with the wine's blend of marsanne, roussanne and viognier. The Spiral 36 has a subtle viscosity, a honey-and-ripe-fruit nose, and a balanced acidity that lingers on the palate. It also has legs to stand up to the rich chicken meat, and it carried my palate through to every finger-licking bite. Great value.
Wow...Go Oregon Go! White Blends
Monday | 10 May 2010
Clare’s Reviews
Okay, I was oober doober impressed with their 09 Rose, which should be released soon, but I was also equally impressed with their 2008 Spiral 36 White Blend…COWHORN WINERY!
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Okay, I was oober doober impressed with their 09 Rose, which should be released soon, but I was also equally impressed with their 2008 Spiral 36 White Blend…COWHORN WINERY!
See full news report...
A Case of Creativity
Monday | 03 May 2010
By Janet Eastman
Even empty wine bottles hold value.
To start with, they're pretty. You haven't noticed? Look closely at a wine collection and you'll see a rainbow of cobalt, cyan, emerald, forest, royal blue and topaz glass. Then study the bottles' shape: A tapered hock style. A high-shouldered Bordeaux. A contoured Burgundy. A voluptuous Bocksbeutel. The neck, too, makes an aesthetic impression. It can be long and elegant, or bulbous. Even bases are distinctively flat or dramatically indented.
In addition to their appearance, empty wine bottles sometimes store memories of very special occasions. And they're practical, too. Everyone who's ever mishandled a wine bottle knows that this thick glass is strong
So why ditch all of these qualities just because the wine's gone?
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Syrah and Spiral rate Excellent
Monday | 29 March 2010
Wine Press Northwest gives Excellent rating for COWHORN 2006 Syrah and 2008 Spiral 36
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Green Glass
Friday | 26 March 2010
By Sarah Lemon
Simple recycling isn’t good enough at COWHORN winery in Jacksonville
Photo by Bob Pennell
At a Jacksonville vineyard known for its holistic approach to the industry and environment, simply recycling wine bottles isn't enough.Bill and Barbara Steele, owners of Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden, are "upcycling" wine bottles used in their tasting room with chic results: functional glassware made in an eco-friendly manner. The resulting tumblers and goblets are available for sale at Cowhorn and Pico's in nearby Jacksonville.
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COWHORN tours with Pink Martini
Tuesday | 23 March 2010
By Nathan Wesley
Pink Martini’s Timothy Nishimoto takes COWHORN Viognier on tour
Timothy Nishimoto, 45, has dueling careers: one as the owner of a successful wine bar in Portland, Ore., the other as a member of Pink Martini, a jazz and Latin fusion band. Nishimoto began working in restaurants at the age of 15. After graduating from California State University at Long Beach in 1990, he moved to Portland, where he worked for various local restaurants, including the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence-winning Papa Haydn. In 1999, he joined one of the local Wild Oats natural food stores as the wine department manager and spent six years honing his skills as a wine taster and developing a deep passion for working with wine.
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Southern Oregon wineries enjoy growth
Monday | 22 March 2010
By Andrea Pettes
MEDFORD, Ore. - Southern Oregon wineries are toasting success.
Besides seeing an increase in tourist traffic each year, regional wines are also seeing local, statewide, and national awards. Sunset Magazine recently named Southern Oregon one of its top destinations for wine in 2010.
The Southern Oregon Winery Association has more than 60 wineries on its list.
"There's no question, when we first bought this property, there were only a handful of tasting rooms. And now we are pushing 20 to 30 tasting rooms just in the area. There has been phenomenal growth, and good quality growth," said Bill Steele with Cowhorn Vineyard and Garden.
Southern Oregon wineries say the amount of wine being exported to other states has increased exponentially over the past 15 years.
In Oregon, there are more than 400 wineries and more than 14,000 acres of vineyard.
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A shining example of Biodynamic® farming
Thursday | 11 March 2010
A virtual visit to COWHORN
Monday | 08 March 2010
Bill Steele gives a quick intro to Biodynamics® and how he and Barbara got into farming and winemaking.
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Retailer, winery make a green team
Friday | 05 February 2010
By F.B. Drake III
Even the lowly used cork can be a contributor to the green movement.
For two years, the Ashland Food Co-op has partnered with Cowhorn Vineyard and Corvallis-based Western Pulp to convert used corks into reusable, compostable wine packing trays.
The result is a collaboration between two local green powerhouses — Southern Oregon's first and only certified organic retailer and its first and only certified biodynamic winery.
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Southern Oregon winery turns trash into treasure
Saturday | 23 January 2010
Moving Past Pinot
Friday | 22 January 2010
By Paul Gregutt
There is general agreement that Oregon is known around the country and even outside our borders as the pinot noir state. This dates back as far as the late 1970s, when an Eyrie pinot showed well in a prestigious competition. A few years later Robert Parker lavished praise on the landmark 1983 vintage, just as many new wineries were being opened. By the end of that decade, with Robert Drouhin’s DDO project established, the reputation for Oregon pinot noir was on a strong upward trajectory.
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There is general agreement that Oregon is known around the country and even outside our borders as the pinot noir state. This dates back as far as the late 1970s, when an Eyrie pinot showed well in a prestigious competition. A few years later Robert Parker lavished praise on the landmark 1983 vintage, just as many new wineries were being opened. By the end of that decade, with Robert Drouhin’s DDO project established, the reputation for Oregon pinot noir was on a strong upward trajectory.
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Pick of the Palate
Wednesday | 06 January 2010
Our choice of an intriguing wine you should know about
There’s much buzz about biodynamics in the Northwest wine world. A kind of über-organic agriculture discipline, it sees the farm as a holistic energy system, and demands extra time, care, and commitment from the farmer. If you want to know how good biodynamically grown and made wine can taste, seek out this wine from Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden in Southern Oregon’s Applegate Valley.See full news report...
Local wine options grew in 2009
Wednesday | 06 January 2010
By Cleve Twitchell
The variety of interesting, good wines made in Southern Oregon certainly expanded during the year that just ended.
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Soul-nurturing Wines
Tuesday | 05 January 2010
Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden is all about respect for the land and sustainability.
From the use of multiple crops to a rejection of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers owners Bill and Barbara Steele are earth-friendly to the core. Everything on the farm is recycled; there is no waste. This was the first winery in southern Oregon to achieve both biodynamic and organic certifications, which in the world of winegrowing means you’ve gone totally green.See full news report...
Fine Vine
Wednesday | 30 December 2009
COWHORN Vineyard & Garden of Jacksonville has had plenty to boast about recently. The boutique “biodynamic” winery has drawn praise from Wine Spectator and the San Francisco Chronicle, and its wine has been recently poured at the James Beard House in New York City and at Fortune magazine’s annual women’s summit.
Sea Change?
Monday | 28 December 2009
By Paul Gregutt
Over the holiday I’ve continued tasting new releases, wrapping up a lot of new wines from Oregon in particular. I continue to be convinced that the 2007 vintage was not universally a write-off for pinot noir – some vintners made very good wines. But 2008 is stellar for white wines, virtually without exception.
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Over the holiday I’ve continued tasting new releases, wrapping up a lot of new wines from Oregon in particular. I continue to be convinced that the 2007 vintage was not universally a write-off for pinot noir – some vintners made very good wines. But 2008 is stellar for white wines, virtually without exception.
See full news report...
Is there a place for organics on upscale restaurant wine lists?
Wednesday | 23 December 2009
By Randy Caparoso
THE CASE FOR ORGANICS IN FINE RESTAURANTS
Like organic foods twenty, thirty years ago, wines produced in organic, Biodynamic®, as well as vegan and sustainable fashions are emerging out of the fringe elements of commercial taste, and becoming more significant by the day. Like all wines, they give us pleasure as alcoholic beverages, make our food taste better, and sweeten our outlook on life. But exactly what, besides health and environmental issues, are the attributes that make these wines worth the attention of wine buyers and sommeliers in fine dining restaurants?
See full news report...
THE CASE FOR ORGANICS IN FINE RESTAURANTS
Like organic foods twenty, thirty years ago, wines produced in organic, Biodynamic®, as well as vegan and sustainable fashions are emerging out of the fringe elements of commercial taste, and becoming more significant by the day. Like all wines, they give us pleasure as alcoholic beverages, make our food taste better, and sweeten our outlook on life. But exactly what, besides health and environmental issues, are the attributes that make these wines worth the attention of wine buyers and sommeliers in fine dining restaurants?
See full news report...
Sustainable, organic vineyard
Wednesday | 16 December 2009
Cowhorn Vineyard and Garden in the Applegate prides itself on being "biodynamic."
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Southern Oregon Wine: A Sustainability Story
Saturday | 14 November 2009
By Michael Altman
Many Rogue Valley residents have no concern that the area is known less for its wine than it could be. Perhaps they prefer to keep the region from becoming a Napa-style wine theme park. On the other hand, emerging from the shadows as a region far from a major city, some southern Oregon wineries are earning high ratings and getting press attention from major wine publications. Many are offering novel grape varietals and from vineyard-to-bottle, are setting new standards for viticultural stewardship and sustainability. Some are taking steps towards courting a loyal following of eco-friendly tourists while maintaining the patronage of locals who value the many advantages of sipping wines crafted close to home.See full news report...
Explore Hidden Oregon
Thursday | 01 October 2009
By Brian Barker, Bart Blasengame, Kasey Cordell, and Rachel Ritchie
Cowhorn Vineyard & GardenThe climate and well-draining soil of this new vineyard (the first grapes were planted in 2005) bear a likeness to France’s famed Châteauneuf-du-Pape region. Translation: expect to sample some really excellent vino here, especially Rhone varietals like the 2007 syrah, which swirls with hints of black cherry and cassis. The Spiral 36, a white table wine with rich oak and apple flavors, could be Southern Oregon’s answer to the Willamette Valley’s pinot noir, but for less than $20.
Wine and food on the farm
Tuesday | 04 August 2009
By Katherine Cole
A new wave of winemakers are adding food crops and animals into the mix
Modern-day photos of wine country depict swaths of green vines rolling over hillsides in perfect, corduroylike rows.But as bucolic as these images might appear to us, they would look alien to a visitor from centuries past. That's because, once upon a time, farms were multipurpose operations, with grapes planted alongside vegetable patches and animal pens. Winemaking was just one of the many tasks that fell to the subsistence farmer.
Today, a new wave of local vintners is trying to re-create the Old World way of vine tending, for practical as well as sentimental reasons.
With their meat, eggs and produce, these winegrowers can glean additional revenue from their property without relying solely on the fickle wine market.
In addition, those who use horses to plow their land say that it saves them the money and fuel that would have been spent behind the wheel of a tractor. Polyculture farming, they maintain, enriches their land without harming the environment.
Finally, according to these back-to-the-land winegrowers, biodiversity protects their grapevines. Just as you're bound to come home with the sniffles if you sit on an airplane with 150 other people, a vast tract planted with a single crop is a sitting duck waiting to be attacked by viruses and bugs. By introducing other crops to their vineyards, these farmers are adding buffers against pests and disease.
But practical factors aside, there's also the basic truth that wine and food taste best together.
Here's a look at three Oregon winemakers who embrace this Old World ethic.
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Cowhorn Vineyard Releases Spiral 36
Tuesday | 30 June 2009
Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden today announced the release of its groundbreaking white wine blend, “Spiral 36.” The wine takes its name from the shape of the winery’s logo and the estate vineyard blocks (3 and 6) that produced the winegrapes. Spiral 36 is Cowhorn’s first release from the 2008 vintage, and the first of a series of new releases in 2009.
Spiral 36 represents Southern Oregon’s first wine to rival great “Cal-Rhône” white blends from California – and from the Rhône River wine region itself. While most such blends are based on the popular Viognier grape, Spiral 36 is almost equally balanced between Viognier (35%), Roussanne (35%) and Marsanne (30%).
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Art of the Label
Friday | 01 May 2009
By Karl Klooster
No limit to creative applications in Oregon wine label designWith the number of Oregon wineries poised to surpass 400, what goes on the bottle is proving to be even more diverse—if not more delightful—than what goes in it.
Given the independent spirit of winery owners, that hardly comes as a surprise. But what they have come up with for their label designs and the process they went through to arrive at them, has so many different variations it would take a book to describe them all.
Marketers will tell you one of the most important purposes of a wine label should be shelf presence, to attract a potential buyer’s attention by making it stand out from competitors. But if that were its only purpose, large type and bold colors would do the job.
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2008's most memorable wines
Friday | 26 December 2008
By Jon Bonné, Chronicle Wine Editor
At this time of year, we all think back on what left an impression. Wine, obviously, occupies much of my brain, and even after I'm done with the Top 100 Wines, I still have notebooks filled with tasting notes that often never see the light of day. I write down nearly everything I taste, but sometimes the wines aren't on the market anymore, sometimes they're too hard to obtain, sometimes they just don't fit neatly into the stories I'm working on at the moment.As the year draws to a close, I start thinking back on which wines have left their mark.
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Thanksgiving wines to chat about
Tuesday | 18 November 2008
By Kate Leeper
2007 Cowhorn Applegate Valley Marsanne Roussanne ($19): A winner with the "I-just-want-something-light-and-dry" crowd, this silky white blend is a blend of two grapes (originally hailing from France's northern Rhone) that were farmed biodynamically in southern Oregon. With turkey, it shows complementary notes of herbs, lemons and minerals. With stuffing, unusual components of hay and quince come to the forefront, finishing with spicy ginger and white pepper. Find it at Bales Thriftway Marketplaces; Cork on Northeast Alberta Street and Northwest Lovejoy Street; Fred Meyer Burlingame; Market of Choice stores; QFC Mount Tabor and Sellwood; and Quinn's Prime and Vine.
Eccentrically produced, 'biodynamic' wines offer intense character
Sunday | 05 October 2008
By Matt Kramer
You've seen the word pop up here from time to time. I assure you it elicits the full spectrum of emotions from winemakers and wine lovers, from rage to reverence. The word is "biodynamic."
Some rail against it as mystical voodoo. Others see it as a form of salvation, restoring vineyards and wine --and us --to a more naturalistic, balanced sensibility.
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The Top 100 Northwest Wines
Monday | 01 September 2008
By Jessica Voelker and Condé Cox
#62 • 2006 Cowhorn Vineyard and Garden Syrah, $32
The name refers to the biodynamic practice of stuffing a cowhorn with animal dung and burying it on winery property during winter, then digging it up, adding water, and spraying the vines with the mixture. Taste Blueberry flavors set it apart from the syrah pack. Sip tip Another wine to wow your enviro pals, this all-natural syrah is a welcome guest at any vegan feast. Cellar life 5+
Biodynamic wine is still going strong
Wednesday | 23 July 2008
By Cleve Twitchell
"Don't panic, this wine's biodynamic" read the headline on a column in this space back on Dec. 27, 2006. It introduced Cowhorn, a new winery in the Applegate Valley that pledged to follow biodynamic practices.
A year and a half later, Cowhorn has wines on the market, and so does its winemaker. I recently tried three of them.
Cowhorn 2006 Syrah ($32) is a special, distinctive, rich wine that holds up well after opening. I thought it was at its best on day three. The aftertaste has a hint of sweetness.
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Keep close to home with eco-friendly wines from Oregon
Tuesday | 22 July 2008
By Katherine Cole
Already, more than a quarter of the state's vineyard acreage is organic, sustainable or biodynamic
Last week we looked at how wine consumers can be eco-conscious when they shop.
As I was writing that column, I found that I kept repeating the same mantra: Buy local.
When we buy locally produced goods we cut down on energy expended in shipping and transportation and, at the same time, support our local economy.
But there's added eco-value to buying locally bottled vino: Oregon wine is a world leader in sustainable production and a model for other industries throughout the state.
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Growing grapes by the moon
Friday | 20 June 2008
By Michele Mihalovich
Barbara Steele remembers that in 2002 Southern Oregon only had one wine tasting room. Now there are 58, she said.But Barbara, 46, and her husband Bill, 47, did something beyond building an outdoor tasting room to set their vineyard apart. The Cowhorn Vineyard and Garden, snuggled next to the foothills of the Siskiyou Mountains in the Applegate Valley, is Southern Oregon's only certified biodynamic and organic vineyard and farm.
"Most people know what organic is," said Barbara. "Biodynamic goes one step further."
Like organic farms, biodynamic farms steer clear of artificial chemical use. But, according to Demeter International, the world's only biodynamic farm certifier, a biodynamic farm is managed as a living organism.
"It's truly based on the oldest principles of farming," Barbara said.
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