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The homegrown tour South Stage Cellars Marketing Manager Porscha Schiller offers tips on wine appreciation to the High Siskiyou tour group. Photo by Julie Akins Wednesday Feb 1, 2017 at 2:00 AM By Julie Akins For the Tidings From the minute you get on the High Siskiyou bus tour in Ashland, you know this isn’t your dad’s tourist vacation stop. Ricky Price, the owner and sometimes driver, immediately gets your attention with his collegial look and easy smile. You pile on the bus, which is more like a passenger van, and amongst the chatter is a discussion of Southern Oregon’s triple assets: wine, weed and artisan beer. For 99 bucks you are treated to the tour which runs over city streets to marijuana dispensaries, through vineyards and high-end wine tastings with an ending at a beer joint Jack Kerouac would have written about, BricktownE Brewing in Medford. They make the brew in the back room and the feeling is decidedly social as people gather around long tables with strangers. High Siskiyou is an invention which comes about after recreational marijuana became legal. “We want to bring the best of Southern Oregon and show people the locals hotspots,” said Price of his tour. He also said, as he chatted with the bud tender, that it’s important for people to understand and learn about cannabis. “The tour is going to be very educational. We want people to understand their sativas and indicas and the way they are grown and their benefits.” So far the company has done five tours. They are, it's said, the only ones like them in the region. “It’s such an honor to share with people,” said Price. Christhian Ayvar moved to Southern Oregon from Napa in California. He is familiar with tours, but this one had elements that traditional wine type of tours don’t offer. “I love wine, beer and cannabis. The whole experience with people you don’t know becoming friends, seeing the reputable establishments, the delicious places while driving the Rogue Valley. It’s so beautiful.” Price mixes his tours up and, in the summer, adds wildflower hikes and mushroom hunting. He visits different dispensaries, wineries and breweries depending on the best fit for his clients and the businesses. On this day he is winding us through Highway 99 to Fireside Dispensary with an impressively large collection of types of marijuana, T-shirts, tools and information about the varietals of weed they carry. A brewery style screen lists the featured products and sale prices. “It’s very informative and fun. I don’t often explore Southern Oregon. It kind of got me out of comfort zone. it makes me want to explore other areas,” said Cassandra Constant, who moved to Southern Oregon in 2014. When the van stops in Jacksonville at South Stage Cellars, the tour is escorted to a semi-private room for some education guided by Marketing Manager Porscha Schiller, who pours 10 different varietals and describes the birth of each bottle, its genealogy and personal story as she encourages her pupils to swish, taste and repeat. The wine is paired with cheese and cracker plates which are passing around the tour group as the laughter goes from hushed chuckles between strangers to whole-hearted laughter and inside jokes. “I feel like my friends know about wine. I wanted to know about it,” Stuart Nichols proclaimed at the stop. By the end of it, he announced, “I really had fun and know more. I’m loving this wine!” Schiller smiles. “We have the largest selection of varietals in Southern Oregon. 28 in all.” The tour first launched in August. Price is testing out different ideas and creating partnerships to bring it into full bloom this coming summer. “Business is growing great. One step is leading to the next one.” The tour is on a limited schedule in the winter, but gets busier as the weather warms and the offerings are more plentiful. Price says, “We’re having fun with new friends together. It’s the best part. It’s and honor to share.” For more information, go to highsiskiyoutours.com. — Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/@julieakins.