Despite the broader fame of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, the modern wine industry in the state began in Southern Oregon. Yet it has only been since 2005 that the warm-climate region of Southern Oregon has had its own appellation.

The renown which the state’s cool climate appellations have achieved sometimes rankles with winegrowers and vintners in Oregon’s warm-climate regions. After all, they feel, not without reason, that Southern Oregon has a distinguished winemaking history all its own that (barely) predates the Willamette Valley. And, they like to point out, the region’s warmer climate allows for a wider range of grape growing.

One of Southern Oregon’s oldest and most respected producers is Valley View Winery, located in the Applegate Valley appellation (a sub AVA of the Southern Oregon appellation), just outside the historic town of Jacksonville.

Founded in 1972, the Valley View name (and their reserve-level Anna Maria label) has been an integral part of the evolution of Southern Oregon’s wine industry. Although the winery was started by their father, brothers Mark and Mike Wisnovsky have been involved in the Southern Oregon wine industry longer than any other current producer.

When I talked with them recently, I discovered the Wisnovsky brothers have a unique perspective on the development of Southern Oregon’s appellations, its viticulture and its place in the Oregon winescape.