News

Winemakers have to adapt as Oregon’s wine country heats up
By Mitchell Hartman, Marketplace, March 24, 2026

All Across Oregon, A Taste of Roseburg
Host Vinny Dicostanzo, PBS, March 12, 2026

Six Oregon wineries where harvest time is fun time
By Michael Alberty, The Oregonian, October 10, 2025

Rising Temp – Oregon Tempranillo is increasing in popularity
By Paula Bandy, Oregon Wine Press, October 1, 2025

Rooted in Spain, grown in Oregon: 30 years of Abacela
By Jack Costa, The News Review, May 29, 2025

Taking “The Temp” to a New Level
By Norm Roby, Wine Review Online, November 12, 2024

Oregon Wine Month: Abacela’s Earl Jones releases memoir
By Brittany Arnold, News Review, May 15, 2024

Awards

WINE ENTHUSIAST
93 points, 2021 Syrah
One of my favorite Umpqua Valley Syrah’s is better than ever with the 2021 vintage. The wine’s dark macerated strawberry, leather and aged balsamic aromas only need a dollop of mascarpone to become a decadent treat. Firm tannins and a surprising amount of acidity offer ample support to the wine’s blackberry and spicy chai tea flavors. Maximum yum. — Michael Alberty

GREAT NORTHWEST WINE
93 points – Outstanding!, 2021 Angelica
While a fortified wine, Angelica offers more brightness from start to finish than many Port-style efforts and leans toward deep ruby than deep tawny in terms of color in the glass. There’s a slight dustiness among the aromatics of poached plum, Florian candied red cherries and mocha — all of which make their way onto a palate that offers juiciness, picks up a slice of dried apricot, crushed toasted Virgina peanut and a lick of cinnamon bark to balance the residual sugar (11%). Tannins impart weight without distraction. Read the full GNWW article.

PAUL GREGUTT.com
93 points, 2024 Albariño
This estate-grown, all-stainless fermented wine is a bright gold, with scents of sweet clover and honeysuckle. Bright and polished, it’s a bowlful of delicious peaches, with enough acid to keep it lively. The ’24 is significantly riper than the previous vintage; try it with grilled peaches.

93 points, 2022 Fiesta Tempranillo
The lush aromas bring blackberries and cocoa, sandalwood incense and plum highlights. Tart and tasty, the palate carries those same flavors, along with black cherry and a hint of cola. Just 7% of the barrels were new but they put a pleasing frame around the tannins. A superb value in a chillable red.

94 points, 2020 South West Block Reserve Tempranillo
Dark and meaty, this excellent reserve is packed with blackberry and black cherry fruit. Powdery aromas suggest baking spices, cinnamon and cocoa, while the full-flavored finish brings a touch of citrusy acids and blueberry pie.

93 points, 2021 Syrah
I wish there were more Umpqua wineries making Syrah. The grape certainly deserves a home here, as it has found in the Rogue Valley. This is loaded with savory highlights; the compact palate mixes crushed berries, plums, coffee grounds, chicory and cinnamon. Released a year ago it’s in prime drinking condition and should be enjoyed over the rest of the decade.

92 points, 2021 Tannat
Scents of blueberries and marionberries introduce this powerful, steak-ready red. The packed, juicy fruits are accented with baking spices and finished with lightly grainy, ripe and polished tannins. Further highlights suggest black olive tapenade, coffee grounds and cut tobacco.

2021 Pioneer Vineyard Angelica
“Oregon became a state in 1859,” notes the winery, “and the vines that produced this wine were planted around the same time.” Stop right there. How is that even possible? “Found in a blackberry patch at Abacela, the vines were recovered and identified as Listan Prieto, aka the Mission grape. Likely came to Abacela from California during the 1850s.”

PG: This fortified dessert wine is beautifully packaged in a 500ml bottle in a style that might have held an adult beverage back in those Gold Rush days. Although the date of the original planting is speculative, modern DNA testing is able to confirm the variety as indicated. How serendipitous that the winery that pioneered Tempranillo in the U.S. found an ancient Mission grape vine on the same property. A toast to a drink that is history in a glass!

WINE ENTHUSIAST
91 points, 2023 Alegria
The Jones family took fruit from perhaps the oldest Albariño vines in America to make a sparkling wine. Boy, am I glad they did. Alegria’s fresh and lively aromatic combination of Granny Smith apples, honeydew melon and mint sets the tone for this gently sparkling Albariño, which has flavors of lime zest, orange sorbet and brioche fresh out of the oven. Alegria’s acidity is bright enough to warrant wearing shades.

OREGON WINE AWARDS
Gold Medal (94 points), 2024 Albariño
Gold Medal (93 points), 2024 Grenache Rosé

VINEPAIR.com
90 points, 2022 Malbec
This wine is sourced from Abacela’s estate vineyards in southern Oregon’s Umpqua Valley. Here, three different mountain ranges converge, creating a unique terroir for viticulture. So while the state is most well-known for Pinot Noir, Malbec works surprisingly well in this area. The wine has a subtle nose with aromas of blackberries, vanilla, and dried herbs and a soft, even palate with a great depth of fruit.

AMERICAN FINE WINE COMPETITION
Gold Medal (92 points), 2020 Reserve Malbec
Gold Medal (90 points), 2021 Grenache

VINOUS.com
93 points, 2021 Barrel Select Tempranillo
91 points, 2021 Fiesta Tempranillo
90 points, 2023 Grenache Rosé
90 points, 2023 Albariño

PAUL GREGUTT
92 Points, 2023 Albariño
Among Abacela’s many pioneering achievements has been the introduction of this classic Spanish white wine to the Pacific Northwest. A spicy, peppery, vivacious wine, it deftly stacks bright fruit flavors of citrus, apple and white peach against crisply defined acids. There’s also a light hint of ocean breeze salinity that suggests a perfect match (as in Spain) with lightly fried seafood.

WINE ENTHUSIAST
93 points & Editors’ Choice, 2023 Viognier
93 points & Hidden Gem, 2021 Tinta Amarela
92 points & Editors’ Choice, 2023 Albariño
92 points & Cellar Selection, 2021 Barrel Select Tempranillo
91 points, 2021 Grenache
90 points & Best Buy, 2023 Grenache Rosé

OREGON WINE AWARDS
93 Points & Gold Medal, 2023 Albariño

WINE ENTHUSIAST
94 points & Editors’ Choice, 2018 South East Block Reserve Tempranillo
93 points & Editors’ Choice, 2018 South Face Block Reserve Syrah
93 points & Editors’ Choice, 2020 Malbec
93 points & Editors’ Choice, 2022 Albariño
92 points & Best Buy, 2022 Grenache Rosé
92 points, 2019 Syrah
90 points & Hidden Gem, Vintner’s Blend 24
90 points, 2020 Fiesta Tempranillo

THE TIMES, By Paul Gregutt
Wine of the Week, 2022 Albariño
Among this Oregon winery’s many pioneering achievements was the introduction of this classic Spanish white wine to the Pacific Northwest. If you’ve ever been to Spain (and you kinda like the music), you know that this is the go-to crisp white wine for all kinds of fried seafood and Spanish cheeses. This New World version is a spicy, peppery, vivacious wine that deftly stacks bright fruit flavors of apple, pear, and white peach with skin flavors and crisp acids. There’s also a finishing hint of salinity that spreads out through the end palate. A lovely white wine perfect for summer sipping.

2023 AMERICAN FINE WINE ROSÉ COMPETITION
Gold Medal, 2022 Grenache Rosé

2023 SUNSET INTERNATIONAL WINE COMPETITION
Double Gold Medal, 2020 Fiesta Tempranillo
Gold Medal, 2022 Albariño

2023 PACIFIC RIM WINE COMPETITION
Gold Medal, 2022 Grenache Rose

VINEPAIR.COM, April 2023
90 points, 2018 East Hill Block Reserve Malbec
The Abacela story began with a scientific approach to finding the best spot in the U.S. to plant and make fine Tempranillo. Over 25 years later, after accomplishing this goal, they continue to grow and diversify with other varieties like Malbec. This is lauded as a great vintage for them and it shows. Nice concentration of fruit on the nose, showing depth before the first sip. The palate continues that concentration adding a nice tannic structure. It can still age for another year or so to soften the edges, but is drink really well now.

GREAT NORTHWEST WINE, April 2023
94 points, 2018 Reserve Malbec
Outstanding! Gold medal; Pioneer Earl Jones planted the five primary Bordeaux varieties when he established Fault Line Vineyards in 1995, but Malbec has been the chosen one from the start. Its footprint has been expanded over time and now accounts for 7.5 acres — nearly 10% of Abacela’s 76 acres. Within those documented 25 variety site trials, Malbec falls within the “consistently great wines” category, and our panel would agree. This effort by longtime winemaker Andrew Wenzl attracted immediate attention in the glass for its elevated level of extraction, enjoyable inky approach and stylish notes of blackberry, black cherry and bacon. The oak influence is attractively balanced across that broadly structured midpalate, which brings along secondary hints of earthiness, anise and lavender.

JAMESSUCKLING.COM, March 2023
90 points, 2022 Albariño
Bright fruit here with pineapples, pears, lemons and nectarines on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with crisp acidity and juicy stone and tropical fruit. Drink now.

91 Points, 2018 Reserve Tempranillo
Attractive nose of plums, spiced cherries, praline and chocolate. Spicy and broad with a full body, powdery tannins and chocolatey, fleshy finish. Drink now.

OREGON WINE PRESS, March 2023
Cellar Select, 2018 Reserve East Hill Block Malbec
Boastful aromas of blackberry, clove, vanilla, oregano, thyme and a hint of cherry extract. Solid structure creates a foundation for intense flavors of blackberry, plum and woody herbs. Bright acid provides a lift through the long finish. An approachably, smooth mouthfeel seals the experience.

OREGON WINE PRESS, February 2023
Cellar Select, 2018 Tempranillo Reserve
Showing enticing aromas and flavors in its youth, yet cellaring for a few years should reveal this wine at its best. Aromas of apple baked in butter