Erath

The winery is located in Dundee (Yamhill County) in the US state of Oregon. It was founded in 1967 by Dick Erath. His family came from Germany, where his paternal grandfather Otto Erath worked as a cooper. Erath studied viticulture at the University of California and immigrated to Oregon from San Francisco. He is considered one of Oregon's winegrowing pioneers, because he dared to rely fully on European varieties. In 1969, the first vines were planted and in 1972, the first wines were made from Pinot Noir, Riesling and Gewurztraminer (spiced traminer). In that year Cal Knudsen joined as a partner and the winery traded under the name "Erath Knudsen". The partnership ended in the early 1980s. In 1993, the oenologist Rob Stuart joined as a new partner. He was now responsible for cellar management and Erath for the vineyards. Finally, in 2006, the business was taken over by Ste Michelle Wine Estates (Washington) and Erath largely withdrew. The company's own vineyards in the North Willamette Valley and in the Dundee Hills cover just under 50 hectares of vines. They are planted with the varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Inspired by Erath's trip to Italy, small quantities of the Arneis and Dolcetto varieties are also cultivated. Grapes are purchased from a further 50 hectares. The premium wines include the single-vineyards Juliard, Leland and Prince Hill made from Pinot Noir.