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Future winery? Photo by Steve Johnson The Voorhies mansion eventually may house a tasting room to showcase the Rogue Valley's wine industry. Mansion leads a fruitful life Part of valley's pear history has a grape future By DAVID PRESZLER Anne and Tim Root hope to turn a birthplace of Southern Oregon's pear industry into a showcase for what may be the Rogue Valley's agricultural future: the wine industry. The Roots obtained the Voorhies mansion and 27 acres around it last month in a real estate swap with Naumes Inc. Anne Root needs a commercial use to maintain the mansion. They want to use the historic mansion to house a collection of wine-oriented ventures, from a tasting room and educational vineyard to a business restaurant and, perhaps, a winery. Such a place, Anne Root says, would help give an identity to the Rogue Valley's growing wine industry. While the region's grapes are drawing national and international acclaim, she says many still associate Oregon wine primarily with the Willamette Valley. "We need a place down here to tell the story," she says. The Roots have been interested in the local wine industry for several years. They lease land off Griffin Creek Road to Quail Run and Griffin Creek Vineyards, owned by Don and Traute Moore. Two years ago, they looked into building a winery at a Fir Street warehouse but abandoned the idea as impractical because of traffic concerns and the growth of surrounding businesses. Despite her enthusiasm for the wine industry, Anne Root says the idea for a showcase is still "miles and miles" from becoming a reality. She plans to spend the next few months fleshing out a business plan to see if such a venture makes financial sense. "If the business plan doesn't support doing this, then we won't do it," she says. Root, who left a job as market manager for AT&T Wireless to pursue the idea, hopes to reach a decision by June. Only then would the extensive process of working out funding, zoning issues and remodeling really get going. If the numbers work, Root thinks the 6,500-square-foot Voorhies mansion and surrounding grounds would be ideal for a wine showcase for practical and historical reasons. From a practical standpoint, Root says the mansion is poised nicely along a tourist route between Ashland and Jacksonville. It is also just minutes from Medford, close enough to draw diners and wine lovers to a tasting room or business restaurant. Historically, the mansion is quite significant. Its core was built around 1890 by J.H. Stewart, the father of the commercial pear industry in Southern Oregon. The house was expanded in 1905 and remodeled in 1920 by the Voorhies family, which owned it until 1986. It was purchased by the late Edward Earnest, who made it the headquarters for Earnest Orchards. Naumes Inc. assumed control of the property after Earnest -- the father of Naumes vice president Laura Naumes -- died in 1997. The Roots have applied to have the mansion listed on the National Register of Historic Places, enlisting the help of historical preservation experts Kay Atwood and George Kramer. A hearing on the nomination is set for February and Kramer says he has no doubts that it will be approved. The property also includes an older house built by Stewart. Root says the wine venture would be an ideal way to honor the valley's agricultural history. She says the mansion, which appears to be in remarkably good condition, has long been a relatively public place as the site of dinner parties and celebrations. "It was a place people gathered socially," she says. She wants to continue that tradition with a tasting room or wine bar. She says the mansion's many rooms might also make it a good spot for private business dining. The Roots plan to remove most of the orchards around the house because they are of little commercial value and require lots of upkeep. In their place, they want to plant an educational vineyard where people could learn about the different grape varieties that can be grown here. There's also plenty of space to develop a winery eventually, though Root says that's "way out there" in the future. For now, she's focused on finding the right commercial ventures to make renovating the mansion practical. "The only way we can preserve these big historic places is to put commercial operations in them," she says. "To maintain something like this, you have to have commercial revenue." Land swap ends Sabroso street spat A real estate swap has ended a dispute between branches of the Root family over Sabroso Co.'s plans to expand its operations into a portion of two south Medford streets. The Medford fruit company has launched a $6 million expansion that will include taking over parts of Grape and Monroe streets. Grape would be closed to through traffic and part of Monroe would be realigned. The Medford City Council agreed to give Sabroso portions of those streets in 1998. But the deal had been blocked by Tim Root and his mother, Betty Root, who owned a former fruit packing plant and warehouse on neighboring Fir Street. Concerned about the traffic impact of the expansion, they filed objections with the state Land Use Board of Appeals. The LUBA appeal pitted Tim Root against his cousin, Jim Root, president and majority owner of Sabroso. But Tim and Betty Root have dropped the appeal as part of a real estate deal with another large Southern Oregon fruit company, Naumes Inc. The deal gives Naumes the property at 619 S. Fir St., which is the former home of Quest International. The dried fruit and vegetable company, owned by Tim and Betty Root, left Medford for Silverton in 1995. In exchange for the Fir Street property, the Roots get 27 acres off Voorhies Road that includes the historic Voorhies mansion. Tim Root and his wife Anne hope to develop the mansion into a showpiece for the Southern Oregon wine industry. Most recently, the mansion was the headquarters for Earnest Orchards, founded by the late Edward Earnest. When Earnest died in 1997, Naumes assumed control of the property and its orchards. Laura Naumes, wife of Naumes Inc. President Mike Naumes, is the daughter of Edward Earnest. Tony Freytag, Naumes' director of marketing, said the Voorhies property didn't fit into any of the company's future plans. "We just didn't have a use for it," he said. But Naumes does have a use for the Fir Street property, which is next to other Naumes holdings. Naumes has leased out several buildings in the area and has already leased its new warehouse to Sabroso. Sabroso officials did not return phone calls seeking comment and an update on the company's expansion plans, including when Grape Street will be closed to public traffic. Anne Root says she and her husband still have concerns about the plan but saw the swap as a good way to resolve the issue. "It was in the best interest of everybody to move on," she says. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA