Wild Rose Vineyard

At the end of a gravel road in the small village of Winston lies the nine-acre Wild Rose Vineyard. As I drove up, a lone man and his dog stood outside the tasting room as if waiting for me. It was winegrower Carlos Figueroa and his dog, Kinsey. I quickly learned that Carlos had an engaging smile, matched by a friendly disposition. We walked into the shaded garage-style tasting room, where a wine bar stood at one end and various art pieces executed by Carlos’ daughter, including a green frog sculpture and paintings, occupied the sides of the room. Kinsey found a spot on the cool concrete.

Carlos is a retired engineering instructor from Umpqua Community College who clearly is not one to sit back and watch the grass grow. He’s a man of many projects, from planting an eight-acre vineyard and launching a winery to growing an herb garden, to name just a few. His non-irrigated vineyard produces one ton of grapes per year. Carlos’ spouse, Denise, is an active partner in the endeavor. Together they have cleared the land (leaving a number of the wild-rose plants intact) and worked to obtain LIVE (Low Input Viticulture and Enology) certification. They wish their vineyard to be free of pesticides, to assure wine buyers that Wild Rose Vineyard wines are organic.

The family-owned and -operated winery produces small lots of estate wines (about 500 cases annually) adorned with brightly colored wine labels — they definitely “pop” in the display case. Visitors can anticipate complimentary wine tastings, which include samples of pinot gris, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, late-harvest pinot gris, and a port-like pinot gris with a name that captured my attention — “Tears of the Rose.”

In the cool of the tasting room, Carlos ticked off a number of projects he has lined up for the future. From expanding the winemaking facility to moving the tasting room upstairs, his calendar is filled for the next 10 years. So much for retirement. Behind the winning smile, this former chemical engineer has miles to go and dreams to realize.