Press
For editors, sommeliers, and the curious.
About Resistance Wine Company
Resistance Wine Company is a small-lot winery in downtown Ashland, Oregon, five minutes from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Founders Kimberly and Kirk Drake left Washington, D.C. for the Rogue Valley in 2016 so Kimberly could re-train as a winemaker. She did — chemistry at Oregon State, a winemaking certificate at UC Davis, cellar work at 2Hawk and Barrel 42 — and the tasting room opened on Pioneer Street in 2024.
The lineup is small-lot Rogue Valley fruit from named vineyard partners: Syrah, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Rosé. Made by Kimberly: Rogue Valley fruit from named vineyards, crushed and bottled in Ashland and the Applegate.Winemaking is low-intervention: native ferments where the lot supports it, picked on flavor rather than Brix. Two of those wines — the 2018 Syrah and the 2019 Malbec — took Best in Show and Best in Class at the 2023 Oregon Wine Experience. The wine club is split into Introvert, Ambivert, and Extrovert tiers, because not every wine drinker wants the same volume of mail.
We take our wine seriously. Ourselves, not so much.
Founders & Team
Kimberly Drake
Co-founder · Winemaker · Chief Introvert
Re-trained at UC Davis after fifteen years practicing law. Picks on flavor, not Brix.
Kirk Drake
Co-founder · Chief Extrovert
Serial entrepreneur, author, runs the wine business and several others. By his own admission a lousy farmer.
Lin Stone
Tasting Room & Events Manager · Sommelier-in-progress
SOU-trained in Environmental Science. Will talk about sandy loam for thirty minutes if asked.
Chris McKean
Event Coordinator · Tasting Ambassador · O.H.B. (Ordinary Human Being)
Bay Area transplant of thirteen years. Coached AHS baseball and SOU softball. Vinyl collector.
Current Wines
All Rogue Valley AVA. All named-vineyard sourced.
| Wine | Vintage | Vineyard partners |
|---|---|---|
| Cabernet Sauvignon | 2022 | Pebblestone Vineyard, Medford |
| Malbec | Multi-vintage | Daisy Creek · Padigan · Dana Campbell |
| Syrah | 2018 / 2019 / 2020 | Jones Vineyard, Medford (2018, 2019); Jones + Grizzly Peak collaboration (2020) |
| Tempranillo | 2022 | Jones Vineyard |
| Sauvignon Blanc | 2021 | Padigan Vineyard (tropical register, not the New Zealand grass profile) |
Release cadence: Malbec, Syrah, and Rosé release annually. Everything else releases when we feel like it.
Selected awards
- 2018 Syrah and 2019 Malbec — Best in Show and Best in Class, Oregon Wine Experience 2023
- 2020 Malbec — 93 points, James Suckling
- 2020 Syrah — 92 points, James Suckling
- 2021 Malbec — 92 points, Vinous
- 2021 Syrah — 91 points, Vinous
- 2023 Sangiovese — Double Gold, Savor Southern Oregon 2026
- 2024 Collab Chenin Blanc — Gold, Savor Southern Oregon 2025
The Rogue Valley was voted the No. 1 U.S. wine region in USA Today's 2026 Readers' Choice. That's the region's award, not ours.
We resist made-up awards designed to sell you something — so this list stays short on purpose. Every award, and what it was for →
Tasting room & distribution
- Tasting room
- 322 N Pioneer Street
Ashland, OR 97520 - Hours
- Thursday–Saturday 2–7 PM · Sunday 2–6 PM
- Online
- Direct-to-consumer via Vinoshipper. Ships only where licensed. See the current list →
- Wine club
- Three tiers — Introvert (4 bottles), Ambivert (6), Extrovert (12). Shipments go out twice a year, spring and fall.
Press kit downloads
- One-page summary (PDF) — names, dates, varietals, vineyard partners.
- Photo pack (ZIP) — bottle shots, vineyard, winemaker portraits. Print-resolution.
- Bios (TXT) — short and long versions of Kim, Lin, and the project.
Press contact
- Editorial · wine · brand
- Kirk Drake — Co-founder
kirk@resistancewineco.com - Tasting room · events · club
- Lin Stone — Tasting Room & Events Manager
info@resistancewineco.com
High-resolution bottle shots, vineyard imagery, and team portraits available on request. Interview availability for Kimberly Drake (winemaking, low-intervention practice, Rogue Valley terroir) and Kirk Drake (founder arc, Ashland tasting-room economics) on a week's notice — route requests to Kirk.
Boilerplate
For copy-paste into editorial pieces. ~75 words.
Resistance Wine Company is a small-lot, family-founded winery in downtown Ashland, Oregon. Founded by Kimberly and Kirk Drake, Resistance pours small-lot Rogue Valley wine from named vineyard partners — low intervention, picked on flavor. We take our wine seriously. Ourselves, not so much. Malbec, Syrah, and Rosé release annually; everything else releases when we feel like it. The tasting room sits four blocks from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Pour a glass. Join the resistance.