Press

For editors, sommeliers, and the curious.

Below is a working list of where Resistance has shown up in print and online. For sample bottles, fact-checks, photography, or anything wine, brand, or editorial, write Kirk at kirk@resistancewineco.com. For tasting-room visits and private events, Lin is your person at lin@resistance.wine.

About Resistance Wine Company

Dormant vines above Ashland valley, fog layer settling in — Dormant vines above the Ashland valley floor.

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 five varietals, all Rogue Valley fruit, all named vineyard partners. 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 2018 Malbec — took top honors 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 — Best Red Wine, 2023 Oregon Wine Experience
2018 Malbec — Best Malbec, 2023 Oregon Wine Experience
Multiple golds across Oregon Wine Experience and Savor Southern Oregon
Featured in USA Today

We resist made-up awards designed to sell you something — so this list stays short on purpose.

Cavin Tonneliers French oak barrels in the cellar — Cavin Tonneliers French oak — the cellar.

Tasting room & distribution

Tasting room bar at 322 N Pioneer Street, Ashland — pendants overhead — Tasting room bar — 322 N Pioneer St, Ashland.

Tasting room: 322 N Pioneer Street
Ashland, OR 97520
Hours: Thursday–Sunday · Sunday pours 2–6 pm
Online: Direct-to-consumer via Vinoshipper. Ships to 44 states plus D.C. — sorry, SD, UT, MI, AR, MS, AL.
Wine club: Three tiers — Introvert (4 bottles), Ambivert (6), Extrovert (12). Releases follow the vintage, not the calendar.

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
lin@resistance.wine

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 five Rogue Valley varietals 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 five minutes from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Pour a glass. Join the resistance.

Mentions

As seen inUSA Today“Infusing AI and personality into Resistance Wine's growth strategy.”2025
As seen inSavor Southern Oregon“Gold Winner — 2024 Chenin Blanc.”2025
As seen inOregon Wine Experience“Best Red Wine in Show + Best Syrah — 2018 Syrah.”2023
As seen inOregon Wine Experience“Best Malbec — 2019 Malbec.”2023