Pear orchards once dominated the Rogue Valley. As vineyards have become a larger part of Southern Oregon’s agricultural landscape, longtime growers say the crops have changed more than the traditions behind them.
Emily Mostue of Dunbar Farms and Laura Naumes of Naumes Suncrest Winery grew up in orchard country. Their families’ experiences show how farming knowledge and cooperation have carried into winemaking — and how urban growth has complicated life on the land.
Naumes estimated that the Rogue Valley had about 13,000 acres of pears at its peak, compared with roughly 3,000 acres today.
“There were orchards everywhere,” Mostue said. “Everywhere you looked, orchards were there.”
From pear orchards to vineyards
Mostue’s great-uncles arrived from the East Coast in 1909 and established Dunbar Orchards. Decades later, a Christmas gift helped her father branch into growing grapes.
Mostue and her husband bought him 12 grapevines after visiting a pioneering winegrower in the Willamette Valley. Her father planted them in what had been her horse pasture, beginning the vineyard that became Rocky Knoll.
Mostue dates the first planting to the early 1970s. The vineyard remains part of Dunbar Farms.
The Naumes family began growing wine grapes in 2013. Its plantings now cover just under 100 acres, Naumes said.
The shift brought growers into closer contact with the people buying their products. Mostue said tasting rooms give customers a way to participate in the wine industry beyond buying a bottle.
“Another huge difference with the winery is it’s so relatable to the general consumer,” Mostue said.
Different crops, shared knowledge
Naumes said many orchard skills carry into vineyard work: pruning, watering, fertilizing and protecting crops from frost.
Mostue said the influence of a growing site — often called terroir in winemaking — matters to other crops, too.
“Terroir has a lot to do with any agricultural item that you’re growing,” she said.
Cooperation has also endured. Mostue recalled orchardists working together on a cooperative packing facility and irrigation infrastructure. Growers also gathered through the Fruit Growers League, where discussions could become heated.
Naumes said that willingness to work together continues among vineyard owners and winemakers.
“Everybody helps each other and works together,” she said.
She also sees continuity in growers’ care for employees and commitment to the land.
Farming amid urban growth
Both women said the valley’s changing landscape extends beyond the shift from pears to grapes.
Mostue remembers walking along Foothill Road as an elementary school student without seeing a car. Today, traffic and development stand out to her as much as the wineries.
Naumes said farming becomes more difficult when new neighbors do not understand the work required to maintain orchards and vineyards.
Looking ahead, she hopes younger generations remain interested in agriculture, even as the crops change.
Mostue wants the valley to protect its farmland. Dunbar’s tasting room sits within Medford’s city limits, but she said visitors are drawn to its rural setting.
“That’s a feeling that we want to keep in this community,” she said.
Laura Naumes, Naumes Suncrest Winery
Emily Mostue, Dunbar Farms
