Every winery needs an Origin Story: interesting, colorful, truthful if absolutely necessary. So here goes.

In the early 1990’s I was a brand-new associate with a law firm in Detroit. I stumbled on a book called The Game of Wine, an overview of the wine regions of the world. I was hooked!

For the next 25 years I dreamed of becoming a winemaker. Meanwhile: career, children, mortgages—not to mention metro Detroit’s less-than-ideal grape growing climate—all intervened.

Fast forward to 2016. My Love and I had moved to Southern Oregon and after a quarter of a century practicing law I was ready to do something different. My initial idea—an Over 50 Professional Dodgeball League—didn’t work out.

Then it hit me: here I was, living in Wine Country.

After earning a degree in vines and wines and working harvests in Southern Oregon and Spain, I was ready. North Bar Cellars was born in 2017.

Now quick! Bring me a beaker of wine so that I may wet my mind and say something clever!

Kevin Breck
Chief Wine Taster

what we make

North Bar Cellars specializes in small-batch southern Oregon wines.

Located in southern Oregon, the Rogue Valley American Viticultural Area is home to 29 wine grape varieties grown at elevations ranging from 1,200 to 2,000 feet.

The valley is 70 miles wide by 60 miles long, encompassing three river valleys and three mountain ranges. This wide range of topography creates a multitude of different micro-climates, each with their own unique terroir. (French for “my dirt is better than your dirt.”)

Each year I select one ton (two barrels) of the best fruit I can find that expresses the place where it is grown. My goal: to make the best wine possible with the least amount of intervention.

I am committed to the sustainability of the vineyards that grow the grapes for my wines and the winery where I produce them. Since 2019, I have sourced my grapes from the organically farmed Steelhead Run Vineyard. Barrel 42, where I make North Bar Cellars’ wine, is organically managed. And in a small effort to reduce my winemaking carbon footprint, I have chosen lighter weight bottles and beginning with the 2020 vintage eliminated foil capsules.

2019 TEMPRANILLO

Applegate Valley, Southern Oregon
PRICE: $32

The 2019 vintage represents the third step in our ongoing exploration of this classic Spanish varietal. The fruit comes from the Steelhead Run vineyard located on the banks of the Applegate River. Long, hot days and cool nights provide the ideal terroir for growing beautiful Tempranillo.

Tasting Notes:

This medium-bodied wine offers blue stone fruits, leather, warm spices, vanilla, moderate tannins, and a long lingering finish. Compared to the previous two vintages, the 2019 throws a slightly softer punch. Think Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Joe Louis!

Wine Dork Stats:

VINEYARD: Steelhead Run
HARVESTED: October 3, 2019
CLONES: 1, 2, Duero
BRIX: 23.8
pH: 3.49
TA: 6.2 g/L
ALC: 14.0%
AGING: 22 months in French oak barrels; 24 months in bottle
CASES PRODUCED: 50

THE label

North Bar Cellars’ name and label are an homage to two northern Michigan landmarks, neither of which have anything to do with wine: North Bar Lake and Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes.

North Bar Lake is a small inland lake separated from Lake Michigan by a sandbar. Periodically the water rises high enough that it breaks through the sandbar and rushes into Lake Michigan

Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes are glacially formed sand dunes that plunge down 400 feet from the top to the Lake Michigan shore.

An intrepid wine drinker standing at the top of the dunes will see the demarcation line where the golden sand meets the azure water. This image provides the inspiration for the label.

FIND NORTH BAR CELLARS WINE LOCALLY AT:

Ashland Wine Cellar
Margo’s Wine Shop
The Oregon Cheese Cave
Harry & David - Country Village