Los Rocosos Pt 2

From the Ag Information Network, this is today’s Fruit Grower Report. Los Rocosos wines came to be eight years ago after a former construction worker’s doctor suggested the then 60-year-old find a less demanding line of work.

That led Roger Lemstrom to the Southern Oregon Wine Institute where he was one of seven of his original 32 classmates to graduate …

LEMSTROM … “I did a couple of internships and I decided that I need a vineyard. I don’t want to work for some 35-year-old guy, making $14 bucks an hour cleaning up his messes all day. So, I bought a run-down vineyard in Milton Freewater.”

The timing, Lemstrom says was perfect …

LEMSTROM … “They were in a panic. They’d been on the market for 400-days. I was the one buyer that they were looking for. Out of, you know, all the people that looked at it, it fit my needs and I happened to have a suitcase full of cash-money from the sale of my house.”

So, growing grapes and making wine, Lemstrom says is what he does now …

LEMSTROM … “Currently, what I do is, I’ve got two income streams off of this property. One is grape sales. I sell to nine different winemakers and then I make wine with what I have left over.”

The now 70-year-old Lemstrom says it’s been great …

LEMSTROM … “It’s a steep, steep learning curve. I did not grow up on a farm. And so, I’m humbled by how much I don’t know.”

Los Rocosos produces 400-900 cases of wine per year and has recently been honored with top awards for three of his wines.

Go to www.losrocosos.com to learn more about their delicious wines.