Melrose Vineyards is located on the bench of the South Umpqua River
where once stood an early French Settlement. It was in the Mid 1800s
when the Archembeau family settled and became owners of this settlement
by filing a land grant. Through the years, many different agricultural
crops have been produced on this site.
Melrose Vineyards' owners (Wayne and Deedy Parker) arrived in
1996. Wayne, with a successful 20-year history of growing grapes to be
used as raisins in the San Joaquin Valley, was on a mission to plant a
sizeable vineyard. He had predicted that Southern Oregon would be one of
the next great viticulture areas in the United States. As it turns out,
Wayne was correct.
The original vineyard of 82 acres was planted in the summer
of 1996. During the first winter, there occurred what is considered a
"100-year Flood." This unforeseen event had a devastating effect on the
property because five acres of the fertile land was washed away with the
flood waters. This event showed the true nature of the land, and that
flood-related damage was a real problem. Once realizing the threat of
Mother Nature, the entire
property was developed to prevent irreparable damaged caused by
future floods.
As the first crops were harvested a few years later, the
uniqueness of this river bottom site was shown to be a worthwhile
investment. The grapes received rave reviews from the high-end wineries
purchasing the fruit.
Given the great success of their grape production, the
Parkers took to their next dream – Melrose Vineyards wines. The dream
was to have a small boutique winery. In 2000, the first wines were in
the barrels and it was decided that the 100-year-old barn on the
property, complete with breathtaking views, would be the ideal location
for the Melrose tasting room.
The barn tasting room was rebuilt from the ground up, leaving
only the main timbers of the structure intact in order to maintain its
structural integrity and historical value. Many original features of the
structure were retained so you can still enjoy the authenticity of the
original barn, creating a wonderful place to enjoy delicious Melrose
wines while you slip back in time.