JPR Wine Festival promises a showcase of Southern Oregon winemaking

Published 10:00 am Saturday, January 27, 2024

If you go The 41st JPR Wine Festival will be 6-9 p.m. Feb. 9 at the Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites and Convention Center, 2525 Ashland St. in Ashland. Tickets ($85, or $75 for JPR members) and more information are at

ijpr.org/winetasting

. Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites is offering special room rates for festival guests staying Feb. 8-10.

Wine enthusiasts wanting to branch out beyond pinot noir and chardonnay can taste other award-winning red, white and sparkling wines from Southern Oregon’s diverse growing region at the 41st JPR Wine Festival on Feb. 9 in Ashland.

The Umpqua and Rogue valleys’ many soil types, elevations and microclimates reward growers with flavorful French Rhone varietals such as syrah and viognier, Bordeaux cabernet sauvignon and merlot, as well as Spanish tempranillo and albarino, and many others. In turn, the wide range of grape varieties draw interest from talented vintners.

“The diversity gives us a lot of opportunity to explore,” said Mark Enlow, who, with his wife, Susan, will be pouring tastes from their Jacksonville-based Parkhurst Wine Cellar. “No matter your winemaking style and what you want to specialize in, there’s probably a place you can grow it here.”

Wine Enthusiast magazine named Southern Oregon/Rogue Valley one of the top five Wine Regions in the world in 2022 along with Abruzzo, Italy; Marlborough, New Zealand; Uco Valley, Argentina; and San Luis Obispo, California.

The wine festival is a fundraiser for Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which is broadcast to a million potential listeners on both sides of the California-Oregon state line. The event will be from 6 to 9 p.m. in the grand ballroom of the Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites. Dozens of wineries, restaurants and cheesemakers including the famous Rogue Creamery will be offering tastes.

Longtime festival sponsor the Ashland Food Co-op and Ashland Hills Hotel’s Luna Cafe will also provide food. Beer and cocktails will be available for purchase at the Luna Cafe bar.

Since most of the wineries and tasting rooms in the region are small and family owned, festival goers will hear directly from hands-on producers, making the event fun for aficionados and new appreciators, said organizer Abby Kraft of JPR.

“Make the festival part of an early Valentine’s getaway or come solo,” she added.

Tickets ($85) include festival admission, a souvenir wine glass, wine, food and live music. At the Wine Pull table, guests can pay $20 for a randomly selected bottle that could be valued up to $300.

An online auction that opens to the public starting Monday, Jan. 22, offers luxury stays, goods and experiences, from Oregon Shakespeare Festival tickets to a guided steelhead fishing adventure on the Rogue River.

Paul Westhelle, executive director of Jefferson Public Radio, said the festival connects people in a way similar to JPR’s programming. “It helps build a stronger sense of community, it promotes a vital industry that helps our regional economy flourish, and it raises funds to strengthen our local journalism and music programming,” he said.

The 41st JPR Wine Festival will be 6-9 p.m. Feb. 9 at the Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites and Convention Center, 2525 Ashland St. in Ashland.

Tickets ($85, or $75 for JPR members) and more information are at ijpr.org/winetasting. Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites is offering special room rates for festival guests staying Feb. 8-10.