Not all wine comes from grapes. Let that sink in: Wine can be made from flowers and berries—and an outstanding example of that diversity comes from southern Oregon’s own Wild Wines, a decade-plus old established winery near Jacksonville. Dreamt up by Carla David, the winery has grown steadily, picking up

Our continuing series profiling local breweries, and how they are managing COVID-19 shutdowns. In this year’s Besties, the Messenger’s readers’ choices for their favorites, Weekend Beer Company in Grants Pass traded wins with Medford-based Walkabout Brewing Company. Less than two years old, but already an institution in Grants Pass, they

On Thursday, June 4 at 4 pm, Caldera Brewing Company, southern Oregon’s largest brewery, reopens to the public. Over the next few days, Jim Mills is leading a number of meetings to talk with serving staff, kitchen staff and brewers about the new protocols. It will be a different world

Indeed, the tourism industry in southern Oregon has soured. Britt Fest and OSF both have shut down for the summer, and restaurants are closed indefinitely. But social distancing does not mean you cannot still drink local wines! And DANCIN Vineyard co-owner Dan Marca remains optimistic and upbeat. The Messenger caught up

I spent a lot of time engrossing myself in history books. I went to school at OSU for history, meaning I spent most of my time reading dusty old tomes written about dead white guys, talking about government and liberties and pursuit of property and stuff. I’ll be honest, most

  Life didn’t really turn out how I thought it would. Namely when asked what I wanted I wanted to be when I grew up, bartending wasn’t really given as an option. I imagine it’s generally frowned upon for a seven-year-old to say, “I want to be around as much

I’m not really a connoisseur of many things. In my obituary, the best thing they could probably come up with would be “his favorite ice cream flavor was Americone Dream and he enjoyed the little things in life like dressing his cat up for Christmas cards.” I’m not exactly what

I’ve never been very good at food pairings. I think this has less to do with an unrefined pallet (even though that is also the case) and more because I hate change. I’m someone that could be perfectly content drinking the same dark beer twelve months a year, with my

This year, I invested in my own health insurance for the first time ever. This has less to do with me “growing up” or “having liquid funds” and more to do with my rate of injury since turning 30. I pulled a muscle the other day reaching down to pet

Beer is my favorite beverage. This is about as surprising as finding out birds are happiest when flying. It’s part of their DNA, so no wonder. To say I was excited when I heard about Medford Beer Week would be putting it lightly. I might have squealed with the same