The Town Of Applegate Radiates Small Town Charm.

The town of Applegate radiates small town charm.

sell, fine. We produce what we can sustainably and that's it. It will not be compromised fot profitability and that's our own mandate." At the end of the day, Mixon says, it's "that we're not Napa" that's going to be Applegate Valley's most effective calling card.

"Next Napa" might not be so bad Just don't use those words, says Pat Spangler, president of the Southern Oregon Winegrowers Association and owner/winemaker of Spangler Vineyards in the Umpqua Valley. "Such a cliche term has been beaten to death all over the world in the last decade," insists Spangler. "Plus, Applegate Valley now is really more like what Napa was in the early I 970s, not what it's like today." Before Napa became a "largely corporate" inrerest, Spangler says, "it was homesteaded, mostly cattle ranches; most of it only starred being planted in the late I960s and I 970s." What "started an explosion of planting" was the famous 1976 blind wine tasting in Paris where a Napa Valley wine won. "Up to that point, people hadn't considered California a wine region or a wine destination," says Spangler. "That opened the flood gates." At first, says Spangler, there was tremendous cooperation among Napa winemakers to work together and promote the area. "They didn't fight each other, they worked together and that was their strength. In fact, up until the 1980s, it was pretty much just like Applegate is now," he says. "When you're all small, it's easy to say you're working

together. But once there was big money involved, it started to fracture. And there's been tremendous selling out to corporate." It's doubtful such a flood would ever be repeated in the Applegate, he says, for one big reason: Napa's juSt an hour away from San Francisco where there are millions of people with lots of money. "Southern Oregon doesn't have the people and it's that simple," Spangler says. However, Applegate's got a geographical profile that's vety similar to Napa's. "Applegate is a true valley that's defined by a river, with pretty uniform soil until you get up to the hills on the north side and the wineries aren't that far apart and people can get around to them in a day," says Spangler. "It's a region that could expand much more; the climate's good, there are more places to plant." Spangler says he likes the future of Applegate, especially ifit continues to draw grape growers and winemakers who have knowledge, a commitment to quality and the funds to support their undertaking. 'There's a lot of exciting stuff going on down there and it has changed a lot in the last 10 years as it's started to get just a little more attention," Spangler says. "You've had people who came in who understand the whole point of the mission is to make very good wine, not just survive. Thos( types of operations really lift an area. Applegate growers understand that br working together, they grow everybody and that's a good thing." SOUTHERN

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