River's Edge Winery

Overlooking the Umpqua River in the tiny town of Elkton (pop. 170) is the friendly River’s Edge Winery. The view of the river from the tasting room is break-out-the-fishing-pole spectacular. Within a day, the white-capped river water will reach the Pacific Ocean, which is only 36 miles from Elkton as the crow flies. Given the area’s proximity to the ocean, the climate here is much like the Willamette Valley, rather than the hotter environs of the southern Umpqua Valley. Summertime temperatures often climb above 90 degrees during the day and drop at night to the mid-50s, influenced by the nighttime breeze from the Pacific. The grapes love it.

The proprietors of River’s Edge Winery, Michael and Vonnie Landt, are the proud owners of two of the state’s oldest vineyards. Located outside of Elkton, their estate vineyards — Elkton Vineyard and Black Oak Vineyard — produce primarily pinot noir with a dash of gewürztraminer. Totaling 11 acres, both vineyards were planted in 1972. If good wine comes from older vines, this winery has an edge on the others. To supplement their grape production, the Landts acquire more grapes from Bradley Vineyard (their neighbor) and Grace Hill Vineyard, located north in the Willamette Valley.

From the start, Michael and Vonnie’s focus has been on “handcrafted” wines. This starts in the vineyard, where each vine is meticulously treated, and grapes are harvested by hand. At the winery, the clusters are sorted by hand, and each batch is aged in separate barrels to create single vineyard reserve wines or blended as a cuvée. The resulting artisan wines include a number of pinot noirs (including a relatively sweet, lip-smacking Dulcet Cuvée with 16.4 percent alcohol). The white wine line-up includes a dry and semisweet gewürztraminer, and a pinot gris.

Although the River’s Edge portfolio of wines reflects what you would expect to find in the Willamette Valley, the similarity ends there. The reason? The unique microclimate and soil conditions found at River’s Edge’s vineyards give an entirely different expression to these wines. What’s more, Michael and Vonnie rely on a combination of different new and not-so-new French, American, and Hungarian oak to impart unique flavor profiles.

While in the tasting room, take your eyes off the spectacular river below to sneak a peek at the barrel room behind the wine bar. Nestled there since the winery’s launch in 1998 are the fruits of Michael and Vonnie Landt’s artisan labors.