The History of Southern Oregon Wine

The Southern Oregon winegrowing region is very unique given that it can successfully grow a wide range of varieties because of its topographical diversity. It was pioneer Peter Britt who planted the first vineyard in our region, located just two miles from DANCIN Vineyards nearly 150 years ago. His vineyard included many different varieties including Franc Pinot, known today as Pinot noir. According to Dr. Willard Brown, a local wine historian, this may have been the first planting of Pinot noir in the state of Oregon. Pinot noir is the most harvested variety in our region by more than a 3:1 ratio.

A Top Southern Oregon Winery

DANCIN Vineyards is a collection of several distinctively unique vineyard blocks of Pinot noir and Chardonnay located above the forested foothills just outside the historic gold rush town of Jacksonville, Oregon. and This area is considered one of the best sites in the Rogue Valley for growing cooler climate varieties such as Pinot noir and Chardonnay.

If you live in Southern Oregon or are visiting, we can’t wait to serve you! Check out our hours and location.

Our vineyards are primarily located on northeast facing slopes that are situated at elevations between 1710 and 1960 feet. With the backdrop of tall pines, cedars and oaks, our vines are draped with the cooling shade at the hottest time of the day, which is similar to the effect of afternoon fog in other cool climate growing regions. As a result, we are able to delay our first seasonal irrigation set until late July or early August, typically needing to apply water to the vines for only 4-5 weeks of the growing season!

Our goal is to maintain appropriate vine balance through proper management practices. Therefore, all of our activities including pruning, irrigation, canopy management, and crop thinning are determined through a continual assessment of each grapevine at every stage of the growing season.