Alchemy at The Winchester Inn

35 S. Second Street  
Ashland, OR 97520  
800-972-4991 
www.winchesterinn.com            

2015 Southern Oregon Regional Star: Alchemy | Ashland

While Larks maintains a somewhat urban feel with the adjoining hotel, the Winchester Inn’s restaurant, Alchemy, is pure countryside. It sits on the main floor of the central house that dates to 1866. An outdoor patio spills into a thick garden, so dense with well-manicured vegetation it’s easy to forget this is still the heart of town.

While the atmosphere is bucolic, the food, upscale and progressive, mixes classic French cuisine with Pacific Northwest flavors.

Executive Chef Billy Buscher, from the Rogue Valley, has run kitchens in Bandon and at the Jacksonville Inn — a nearby A-List restaurant. Buscher works closely with Alchemy’s general manager and certified sommelier, Drew Gibbs, who has studied wines from around the world, and chooses to promote Oregon.

“We focus on offering local (think Oregon), smaller-production boutique wines from properties that might be overlooked,” said Gibbs. “Alongside boutique bottlings and deep verticals, we strive to offer some of the renowned wine gems that might be more familiar, but harder to find.”

One glance at the wine list and you will agree: Alchemy is a rightful Regional Star honoree.