Old Bridge Winery

Metamorphosis is derived from the Greek language and means “change of form.”

George and Angie Clarno know all about metamorphosis. After nearly 60 years of marriage, they have lived many lives. Along the way, they owned a logging company, a hunting-guide service, a taxidermy business, and a saw shop. You name it, they’ve done it. So when it came to opening a winery, it was no big deal for George and Angie to launch Old Bridge Winery.

Located in the small town of Remote, Oregon, off Highway. 42, Old Bridge Winery is across the road from Sandy Creek Bridge. Until the 1950s, this covered bridge was part of the main road that led to and from the Pacific Ocean from Roseburg. Now, it is a historic landmark and serves as a backdrop for picture-taking families on their way to the coast.

Inside the manufactured home that serves as the tasting room and annex for the winery, Angie welcomes visitors and introduces them to Old Bridge wines. She explains that George has been making wine for more than 50 years, in between running his logging business, leading hunting expeditions in British Columbia, and bagging elephants in Africa (note the elephant tusk in the tasting room). As it turns out, George still has a commercial pilot’s license, allowing the couple to make day trips to a variety of places around the Pacific Northwest. Among all these adventures, however, one avocation remained front and center: making wine. You could say George’s hobby was out of control.

Pouring from bottles and jugs, Angie takes visitors through a smorgasbord of traditional European wines, fruit wines, and an enchanting sparkling wine called Spirit of Cranberry. It just might be the only sparkling cranberry wine in Oregon. She explains that her biggest joy occurs when people exclaim that they like the wine. At prices between $10 and $20 per bottle, visitors have reason to celebrate. However, everyone gets to celebrate in the fall when the Clarnos host a daylong barbecue and bring in a chef from Portland to prepare the fixin’s.

After taking some photos and gathering my notebook to leave, I asked Angie about their next adventure. She replied that she’s afraid to ask George that question. She’s happy with their current lives and not quite ready for another career change. I guess she figures it’s time to settle down.