Erath Vineyards

Erath is the very first winery I ever visited in this area.  I was first here in either the very late 70s or early 80s.  (I can hear you now…"I wasn’t even born then!".  Yeah, yeah, let’s just move on…) At that time there were probably a dozen or so wineries in the area – maybe there were more but they were still working incognito. 

The "tasting rooms" were often in sheds or an area in the winery where they’d put a few boards across a couple of barrels for a makeshift table.  These rooms were normally staffed by the owner or winemaker themselves, tasting hours were limited to a few hours each weekend, and sometimes there was only one wine to taste.  There were no commercial tasting rooms back then, no nice little road signs telling you where to turn (like there are now) and if you wanted to taste the wine you’d make the trip out the windy, often gravel, roads to the source – normally placed strategically on the top of a hill overlooking acres of vineyards. On a good day you could hit three wineries – between the limited hours and the distance between the wineries it was nearly impossible to do any more.   

Dick Erath was one of the original winemakers in the area. I met Dick that first time at the winery and, as an extreme wine novice, was pleased that he spent so much time with my husband and me (former husband to be exact) educating us about his wine (I believe all Pinot Noir at that time), the area and why he thought it would be a great wine region.  I learned a lot from him and his enthusiasm was contagious.  Long before Sideways, I became a Pinot Noir geek, although I hope not as pathetic as Miles (Paul Giammiti)!

I visited this winery several times in the 80s and I know I was there in 1988, but don’t believe I’ve been back since then. I moved to Washington in 1981 and for many years have focused on visiting Washington wineries, although I’m still actively drinking and trying Oregon wines.  For years trips to Oregon were filled with family obligations (either mine or my former husband’s) and we just got away from visiting the wineries. 

Erath was actually called Knudsen-Erath at the time I first visited.  It changed several years ago but I’d never heard the story why that happened until this weekend.  Apparently some law was passed in Oregon about how winery ownership could be structured.  The Knudsen-Erath partnership didn’t qualify and had to be split up.  Knundsen took the vineyards, Erath the winery but bought the Knudsen grapes.  Then there was some sort of disagreement or maybe just a change in agreement and Knudsen started selling his grapes elsewhere.  I swear that at the time this happened I could tell!  Although at the time I didn’t know why the wine tasted different and assumed it was my poor recognition or maybe a change in their blend.  The Knudsen grapes are now sold to Argyle winery, another winery I stopped at later this day.  

Oregon Pinot Noir has never been cheap but over the years I have seen a disturbing trend of climbing prices.  I mean significantly increasing prices.  I think that it’s too bad as it puts so many of them out of the price range for many consumers – me included!  And the value isn’t always there.  It’s one of those things where the wineries try to recoup their costs to produce the wine, whether or not the quality of the wine commands the price they are asking. 

What I’ve seen at Erath over the years is that the wine that used to be their basic bottling has now moved to a reserve bottling and they’ve added several single vineyard releases at premium prices  What is now the basic bottling is still decent, just not what it used to be.  Having said that, they are still one of the best valued wines in this market. 

Besides Pinot Noir they have also added Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc to their line.  And they’ve also added a Dry Riesling and a Cabernet Sauvignon.  The Cabernet is being discontinued after this release due to the fact that the growing season in the Willamette Valley just isn’t long enough, except in exceptionally good years. 

Since I had several wineries to visit and many more miles to drive, I tried to keep my tasting focused on the Pinots.  Tasting notes will be more detailed when I actually drink these wines.  During most of my tastings I was either the only one or one of very few in the room and so instead of taking detailed notes I focused on conversations with the tasting room staff. 

They charge $5 to taste the base line of wines with an additional charge for the premiums.  Although on this day the woman told me she’d let me try them all for the $5.  However, she didn’t charge me at all when she rang up my wine purchases.  The tasting room also sells quite a lot of wine merchandise – it’s now about ten times as large as that first tasting room I visited!

Erath 2003 Pinot Blanc:  Very crisp and clean!  Refreshing.  Looking forward to drinking this on a hot summer’s day or perhaps with shellfish or maybe eating shellfish on a hot summer day!  

Erath 2003 Pinot Gris:  This wine has great body!  It fills your mouth with citrus and a bit of floral but is still crisp.  Good aftertaste.  Another wine I’ll look forward to having with shellfish. 

Erath 2003 Oregon Pinot Noir:  A little on the light side but still a very pleasant wine and a good value for the price.  Some fruit.  I think it may develop a bit more character in a couple years. 

Erath 2002 Leland and Prince Hill Pinot Noirs:  These were both yummy, chewy Pinot Noirs!  I liked both of these single vineyard releases but opted to purchase the 30th Anniversary release instead. 

Erath 2000 Pinot Noir Reserve 30th Anniversary:  Elegant, smooth, deep plum, makes me very happy!  They say to hold it but I’m not sure I can wait!

Next stop:  Argyle Winery