I know it can be one of the most basic things in the world to talk about geography, but bear with me for a second because I’m trying to paint a picture and you must consider the scenery. If you’ve ever driven north on Highway 97 between Bend and Madras, you know the dramatic shift In landscape. The greener regions of Bend proper quickly flatten out into a high desert scrubland where the sun feels hotter and the sagebrush outnumbers the people three-to-one.
But right before you reach Culver, something breathtaking happens. You blink and then all of a sudden there’s a sprawling, vibrant green mirage along the highway, standing sentry, surrounded by volcanic dirt. That oasis is Maragas Winery, a singular destination that feels unique not just to Central Oregon, but to the world.
Embarrassingly, I haven’t been out to Maragas Winery since they’ve been near Culver, but I spent more than a few hours in their tasting room when it was in the spot currently held by Palate Coffee on Colorado. Now that I’ve discovered the winery’s spectacular current acreage, I won’t take it for granted again.
Wine is the lifeblood of founder Doug Maragas, who established Maragas Winery in 1999. However, the Maragas family history in winemaking spans centuries. Their heritage stretches from the ancestral family vineyard in Crete, Greece, to wine grape brokering and custom crush operations in Lodi, California, during the 1940s. Maragas family members learn specific winemaking techniques and protocols from a young age, passing the knowledge and traditions down through generations. You can immediately tell that for Doug, this is not just a business — it is a calling.
It’s impossible to oversell the beauty of the property. Sitting on the expansive patio surrounded by a lush lawn and thriving grape vines, the winery truly feels untouched by time.
“Mother Nature set the scene for us here,” Doug Maragas says. “With Smith Rock on one side, the Cascades on the other, and our vineyard in the middle — surrounding the winery lawn, that’s a fabulous beginning to a relaxing and calming setting.
The property also emphasizes environmental health. “We are also an organic and sustainable vineyard and farm,” Maragas adds. “So, you can take your shoes off and walk the lawn without worry of absorbing anything that will cause an issue. We also placed and built the winery and grape arbor to meld with nature. To top it off, the winery, patio, arbor and lawn have a sound system that evenly distributes high-quality sound that delivers what we hope you will find as soothing and/or uplifting music.”
I was fortunate enough to visit for one of their Sunday Supper Plate meals, where Doug’s wife and partner, Gina Maragas, cooks scratch-made cuisine that pairs exquisitely with the estate’s wines. The Sunday I attended, Gina cooked a Northern Italian Mushroom Lasagna with her own handmade sheets of pasta, layered with porcini, shiitake and portobello mushrooms and finished with a delicate gorgonzola béchamel. As someone who isn’t into mushrooms as much as I know I should be, I can confidently say this was one of the finest lasagnas I’ve ever tasted. The rich, cheesy béchamel perfectly balanced the earthy, savory umami of the triple-mushroom blend. This scratch pasta, combined with exceptional estate wines, gives the entire winery a peaceful, timeless feeling that’s hard to quantify.
“The Sunday Suppers are based on our heritage — mine from Greece and my wife’s from Italy, says Maragas. “Both of our grandparents were born and raised there, so we were raised appreciating the beauty of Southern European cooking. So, we bring European scratch cooking here, in a casual winery setting, to our guests. Upcoming will be a Greek Moussaka, followed shortly after that (every other Sunday) by another Greek dish that centers upon chicken, arugula and lemon orzo.”
Just as you feel a sense of calm as soon as you step onto the grounds, there’s a distinct patience at play in the creation of the wines. The atmosphere is so effortlessly relaxed and unpretentious that the moment you step out of your car, you immediately enter riposo — finding a slow-moving quietude that is easy to forget we need.
The 2021 Terrebonne Malbec, aged in oak barrels for 36 months, is just one of the several showstoppers crafted by Doug Maragas. As with his Tempranillo, the balance in these wines is remarkable. From the cedar notes of the Tempranillo to the berry-forward profile of the Malbec, the wines are complex enough to stand alone as meals unto themselves.
However, pairing Doug’s wine with Gina’s cooking creates a truly multi-sensory experience. I found the best pairing to be the decadent lasagna alongside the Cabernet Franc 2018, aged 59 months in New American and French oak. The family’s traditional barrel-room techniques shine here, delivering a deep, complex flavor profile with robust fruit and a shockingly smooth finish.
Doug Maragas is more than a winemaker or a vintner: he’s an artisan practicing a rare, historic craft.
“I believe the key is first, natural winemaking — the same recipe has been used since Roman times and it’s basically four ingredients — grapes, yeast, bacteria and sulfur for reds, and grapes, yeast, clay, and sulfur for whites,” says Maragas. “This, on top of protocols that have been handed down in our family for generations; my family still has a vineyard in Crete, Greece.”
There’s genuine magic out at Maragas Winery where Doug has been quietly crafting exceptional vintages for well over two decades. As I sat drinking wine made with a staggering amount of patience and love, while eating scratch-made lasagna made with the same, looking across the expansive lawn at the awe-inspiring, snow-capped Cascade Mountains and the sharp intensity of Smith Rock, I found myself a little amazed with this world we live in and the people we share it with. I loved being out at Maragas Winery. I know you will, too.
Maragas Winery
Wed-Sun, 11:30am-5pm
15523 SW Hwy 97, Culver
maragaswinery.com/
541-546-5464
This article appears in the Source June 25, 2026.
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