|
... founded Erath Vineyards in 1967. At that time, there were only a
few other wineries in Oregon. In the fall of that year, he moved here
from the Bay area where he had a career as an electrical engineer, and a
hobby as a home winemaker. After attending winemaking classes at the
University of California at Davis, Dick came to Oregon from San
Francisco, found the Dundee Hills, and the rest is, well, history.
His first crush produced 216 cases of wine. Pinot Noir,
Gewürztraminer, and Riesling. While living with his family in an
unheated logger's cabin, Dick began building the original winery and his
family home. Once the first cedar log structure was completed, the
family lived upstairs, while the wines were cellared in the basement.
Erath now produces about 53,000 cases of Pinot Noir annually, using
fruit from estate vineyards in the Dundee Hills, and from growers in the
Willamette Valley. An additional 12,000 cases come from Pinot Gris,
Pinot Blanc and small amounts of Dry Riesling, Dry Gewürztraminer and Dolcetto.
From nursery propogation all the way through bottling, Dick Erath is
fully involved in the winemaking process. He devotes a lot of his time
to the viticultural end of the business, since he believes, and
proclaims 'Great wines are grown, not made'.
Thirty-four vintages later, he's still growin' strong.
  
|
 |
