A new winery in the Rogue Valley that puts family first

Ashland, Ore.- NBC5 News got an exclusive look at the Rogue Valley’s newest winery, The Irvine-Roberts Vineyard.

It all started after a few glasses of wine in Italy years ago; after the Irvine’s had made a few new friends during a family trip to Rome. The Irvine’s say that after that, they were inspired and it triggered an idea.

Now that idea has become reality. 26 acres of reality.

Doug and Dionne co-own their vineyard with Doug’s sister and brother in law.

It started out as three acres on the ranch land at their family home.

“We thought let’s plant a little vineyard and see how it goes. And it’s right when this little Southern Oregon wine thing was kicking off,” Doug Irvine says.

Now things have grown to 26 acres and counting. They plan to expand into the other 26 acres they have in the coming years.

Back when they initially started, the first bottle that they sold was a 2009 Pinot Noir. They sold it at Smithfields.

Even with the amount of wine they produce now, to them the winery isn’t just their place of business. The Irvine’s say that it’s a special place with unbelievable views.

And it isn’t the wine that matters most to them. It’s the people. They call their employees not only their team, but their family. And they celebrate the annual harvest of the grapes, before they become wine, like any family would.

By breaking bread and then they, “Scream and yell at each other like family.”

Their new tasting room is ready, open seven days a week. The winery is set to open on the eleventh.

The Irvine’s say they’ll be able to make up to 20,000 of wine.