Bridgeview Vineyards & Winery

Bridgeview Vineyards & Winery’s famed Blue Moon Riesling speaks volumes about this remarkable winery near Cave Junction. The fact that this wine comes in a blue bottle reflects some of the maverick character of founders and owners Bob and Lelo Kerivan. They do things differently. Bob and Lelo moved from Miami in the 1980s and converted a 75-acre parcel into vineyards of chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot gris, riesling, and gewürztraminer. People thought Bob was crazy for growing premium wine grapes in Illinois Valley, but years later Bridgeview’s significant number of awards and accolades have proven the naysayers wrong.

The Blue Moon Riesling is less than $10 a bottle. In fact, all of their Blue Moon collection of wines — including chardonnay, pinot gris, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot — are priced around $10; the one exception is the pinot noir, which still goes for less than $20. The Kerivans laugh at the idea that some people spend $100 for a bottle of wine. Their reasoning is that they wouldn’t spend such exorbitant amounts, so why would they charge that much for their wines.

They also produce cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah, and a red-blend wine under their Black Beauty label. In addition, they make other premium and specialty wines, such as dessert, port-style and sparkling wines. Under the winemaking direction of Lelo’s son René Eichmann, Bridgeview’s production has grown to more than 85,000 cases per year, putting the winery in the top echelon of Oregon winery producers.

Today, Bridgeview Vineyards & Winery manages roughly 200 acres of grapes in Illinois Valley, in addition to 80 acres in Applegate Valley. Whereas Illinois Valley produces cool-weather grapes such as riesling and pinot noir, the Applegate vineyards generate Bordeaux-style grapes such as merlot and cabernet sauvignon. Because of the high numbers of wine tourists visiting the Applegate WineTrail, in 2004 Bridgeview opened a satellite tasting room in a distinguished red barn on North Applegate Road. WineTrail tip: If visiting Illinois Valley, consider staying at the Kerbyville Inn. Owned by the Kerivans, it has four wine-themed suites, two with spas, and a guest room, all with private entrances and bathrooms.

Despite the fact that Bridgeview Vineyards & Winery is off the beaten wine tour path, thousands of visitors stop at the Kerivans’ Cave Junction tasting room every year. Drawn by the winery’s manicured grounds and pristine lake, wine tourists come for the great values and, of course, those beautiful blue bottles.

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  Bridgeview Vineyards & Winery was featured in WineTrails of Oregon as part of the Illinois Valley WineTrail on page !