Knowing the History

Melrose Vineyards is located on the bench of the South Umpqua River where once stood an early French Settlement. It was in the Mid 1800’s when the Archembeau family settled here and became owners of this settlement by filing a land grant. Through the years, many different agricultural crops have been produced on this site.

Melrose Vineyards’ owners (Wayne and Deedy Parker) arrived there in 1996, and Wayne was on a mission to plant a sizeable vineyard. He had predicted that Southern Oregon would be one of the next great viticulture areas in the United States. Having been a grape grower in Fresno, California for over 20 years, Wayne had developed an extensive history for growing grapes.

The original vineyard of 82 acres had been planted in the summer of 1996. During that first winter there had been what is considered a “100 year Flood.” This unforeseen event had a devastating effect on the property because 5 acres of the fertile land had been eroded away by the river. This event had shown the true nature of the land and that flood related damage was a real problem. Once realizing the threat of Mother Nature, the entire property had been developed to prevent future natural problems.

It had taken Wayne a few years to clean up the debris from the 1996-1997 floods. During that time he had planted a row of poplar trees to form a combing barrier that would help stop floating debris from entering the vineyard due to future flooding.

Being proactive against possible frost damage the Parker's installed wind machines to circulate the air when needed.

As the first crops were harvested, the uniqueness of this river bottom site was shown to be a worthwhile investment. The grapes grown received rave reviews from the wineries purchasing the fruit.

The Parkers had decided it was time to step up and make Melrose wines. The goal was to have a small boutique winery. In 2000, the first wines were in the barrels and it was known that an outlet to market the wines was needed. The 100 year old barn on the property seemed like a perfect setting for a spectacular venue. The work needed to be done in order to build the vision.

History of our 100 year old barn The barn tasting room has been rebuilt from the ground up - leaving only the main timbers of the structure intact. The best day was when the lights shined bright,as if to give the barn a new life. Many original features of the structure were retained so you can still enjoy the authenticity of the original barn- making it a wonderful place to be entertained as you slip back in time.

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A Southern Oregon Tradition Since 1996