No matter what, DO NOT tell anyone how beautiful it is in the Applegate Valley. I’m worried that if the word gets out, I won’t be able to afford to retire there. There is so much to admire about the burgeoning wine scene in Southern Oregon. We’ve been working on a broader photo project in Southern Oregon and a recent part of that adventure was a field trip to Cowhorn Vineyards near Jacksonville, Oregon. Deep in the Applegate Valley, Bill and Barbara Steele are cultivating about 25 acres of certified biodynamic grapes within a polyculture framework. They also have built the world’s first tasting room that meets the “Living Building Challenge”, which is the highest level certification for a LEEDS-type standard. It’s more technical that I can understand, but I understand it is the highest standard for net-zero energy use, free of toxins and materials that create pollution and has a reduced carbon footprint many times smaller than a conventional commercial building. Plus, it’s incredibly beautiful.

You can visit Cowhorn and see all this for yourself. But please, let’s keep this our little secret. 

Loosen Bros. USA is the sole U.S. importer of the wines of celebrated Riesling producer Ernst Loosen, including Dr. Loosen and Villa Wolf. We’ve been collaborating with Loosen Bros. USA on a distinctive style that helps telegraph the nature of their wine’s flavors. The lighting setup we designed for them minimizes reflections on the surface of the bottle while highlighting the delicate colors of the wine, or in some cases, the gem-like colors of the bottle itself. After Loosen Bros added a few new labels for distribution, we updated their website header image to show their entire portfolio of brands. We also styled and shot the image that would ultimately be used for case-cards and other POS materials. 

Athena Pappas and Stewart Boedecker are a winemaking team with differing ideas on Pinot Noir. Stewart likes his Pinot Noir delicate, Athena prefers a more powerful style. And therein lies one aspect of their unique brand story. In preparation for updating their website, Stewart and Athena collaborated with us on a set of photos intended to tell that story with subtlety and nuance. Additionally, Boedecker Cellars had expanding their tasting hours and wanted to showcase their added offerings to the public and wine club members. Here are a few of our favorites from the shoot. Both John and I are delighted with the photos of Athena and Stewart making tasting notes on their current wines–we think it’s the perfect expression of their partnership.

If you’ve ever been tasked with updating your winery’s website, you know what a hair-pulling, mind-bending, cat-hearding exercise it can be. Imagine if you could call your photographer and say, “Help me, please!” Well, this is exactly what we’re good at. With our years of experience in winery photography, we know what kind of photos are successful at promoting your brand. Furthermore, since we’re also fully versed in market positioning and visual communication, we know how to make photos that depict a brand exactly where they want to be in the market. We’ve been lucky enough to work with Rob and Maria and the team at R Stuart & Co over several years, seeing how their brand has evolved. This latest set of photos was designed to capture the various moods of their lines and update staff portraits. My favorite of this set is the high-key styled shot of the Love, Oregon wines. 

We’ve been exploring what’s going on in the growing wine business in Southern Oregon, and I’ve got to say it’s fab. Well, maybe I shouldn’t say, since for now, it feels like an undiscovered treat. It’s relaxed, unpretentious, knock-out beautiful and refreshingly friendly. While I was making one day’s itinerary, I noticed I written “So Oregon” for Southern Oregon. Now I think that could be a tag line–It’s so Oregon!