Erath

There is no better season in the northern Willamette Valley than early fall. The days are still temperate, but the nights are crisp. Leaves turn stunning gold and crimson, and the valley's bounty of produce — a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables in addition to grapes — is on full display. Fall also brings a very exciting time here at Erath - we begin harvest in preparation for another vintage of exceptional wines.

About two weeks prior to harvest, we sample all our vineyards to get a baseline of where sugar maturity in the grapes stands. Depending on weather conditions and the winemaker's instincts we begin walking the fields to taste the grapes and chew the grape skins, looking for flavor and tannin development. We also look for other signs of physiological maturity such as seed browning and shriveling, stem browning, and whether the vine leaves are beginning to yellow which indicates the vines are beginning to shut down for the season.

We harvest all our fruit by hand into 5-gallon buckets and then transfer the load into larger bins for transport to the winery. Normally, our vineyard workers pick from first light until just after noon, to ensure we receive the fruit while it is still relatively cool. Once it arrives at the winery, we put on our winemaking hats and get busy crafting the delectable new Erath wines

Here's to another successful harvest!

Fall Releases

Our fall releases pair perfectly with the season. 2008 Oregon Pinot Noir 2008 Quail Run Pinot Blanc 2006 Fuqua Pinot NOir

Event Calendar

See what's happening in our tasting room. We hope to see you there!
View Our Events

Fall Recipe

Fettuccine with Wild Mushroom and Golden Beet Harvest