Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden

The Ranch

Cowhorn was founded in 2005 by Bill and Barbara Steele on a 117-acre ranch in the Applegate Valley of southern Oregon, warmer and drier than the Willamette, better suited to the Rhône varieties that define the project. The estate earned Demeter Biodynamic certification and runs the full cycle: gardens, livestock, compost, cover crops. In 2021, stewardship passed to Mini Byers, with Vince Vidrine as head winemaker. The continuity runs deep. The biodynamic commitment hasn't wavered, and the Rhône focus remains one of the most distinctive in Oregon.

Wines

Syrah, Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne, and Grenache from estate fruit. The wines carry the warmth of the Applegate Valley but keep an Oregon restraint, not Northern Rhône copies, not Barossa bruisers. Something in between, shaped by the place. Cowhorn is one of the few Oregon estates that looked at the Willamette Pinot playbook and said no thanks. Paired with Johan in the portfolio, they form the biodynamic Oregon bracket, cool-climate and warm-climate, two different arguments for the same farming philosophy.

At a glance

Home

Applegate Valley, Southern Oregon

Grapes

Syrah, Grenache, Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne

Farming

Demeter Certified Biodynamic, estate farmed as one living system

The building

Tasting room holds the Living Building Challenge certification

Wines in our book

• GSM, 2023
  Red Blend · Oregon · Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre
• Spiral, 2024
  White Blend · Oregon · Viognier, Marsanne, Roussane
• Syrah, 2022
  Red · Oregon · Syrah
• Viognier, 2023
  White · Oregon · Viognier

More about Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden

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