An electronics engineer who treated a cold Oregon hillside like a laboratory — and helped prove the Willamette Valley could grow world-class Pinot Noir.
Researched and drafted with AI, then verified three ways for accuracy — cross-checked against independent sources, audited by a separate AI accuracy pass, and reviewed by editor Ken Wytsma.
In 1968, a Californian named Dick Erath loaded up his family, drove north, and moved into an unheated logger’s cabin in the Chehalem Mountains. He was an engineer by training and a winemaker by obsession, and he had come to test a hunch that the experts doubted: that this cool, green corner of Oregon could ripen the fussiest grape in the world. The story of Oregon wine is, in no small part, the story of that bet paying off.
From circuit boards to cuttings
Erath trained and worked as an engineer in California, making wine at home on the side until the hobby took over. He studied enology at the University of California, Davis, and in 1968 relocated his family to a 49-acre site in the Chehalem Mountains above Newberg.[1] The following spring he planted his first four acres — not to one safe variety, but to twenty-three different grapes, Pinot Noir among them, to see what the ground would do.[1] It was an engineer’s experiment: change the variables, watch the results, keep what works.
He planted twenty-three varieties on four acres — an engineer running an experiment to find out what Oregon could be.
An industry, not just a winery
Erath made his first commercial vintage in 1972 and went on to found Erath Winery, which became a fixture of the Dundee Hills and one of Oregon’s best-known labels.[2] But his influence ran wider than his own brand. He was a founding member of the Oregon Winegrowers Association and a steady hand in the long campaign to map and define the valley’s terroir, including the recognition of the Dundee Hills as an AVA. In 2006 he was inducted into the Oregon Wine Hall of Fame.[3]
Erath’s early plantings were in the Chehalem Mountains, not the Dundee Hills with which his name later became linked — a small but telling correction. His first vineyard, on Dopp Road above Newberg, is among the Valley’s founding sites, and a few of those original acres still bear fruit today.[1]
- 1968
- Moves his family from California to a 49-acre site in the Chehalem Mountains.[1]
- 1969
- Plants his first four acres — 23 varieties, Pinot Noir included.
- 1972
- Makes his first commercial vintage; later founds Erath Winery in the Dundee Hills.
- 2006
- Inducted into the Oregon Wine Hall of Fame.[3]
- 2023
- Dies March 29, at the age of 87.
The legacy in the glass
Erath belongs to the tiny first generation — with David Lett, Charles Coury, Dick Ponzi, and David Adelsheim — who turned a fringe idea into an industry. To taste a Chehalem Mountains or Dundee Hills Pinot today — perhaps on a Dundee wine tour past the vineyards he planted — is to taste the result of his experiment. It is exactly the kind of story we love to tell, standing in the rows, on a Willamette Valley wine tour.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Dick Erath?
Dick Erath was an American engineer turned winemaker who became one of the founding pioneers of Oregon wine. In 1968 he moved to the Chehalem Mountains and planted Pinot Noir, helping prove that the cool Willamette Valley could ripen the grape, and founding the winery that still bears his name.
Why is Dick Erath important to Willamette Valley wine?
He was among the very first to plant Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley, and his early success helped establish the region – especially the Dundee Hills – as one of the world’s great Pinot Noir areas.
Related reading: David Lett, “Papa Pinot” · Dick Ponzi · Lynn Penner-Ash · the modern history of the valley
Sources
- “Dick Erath, Willamette Valley pioneer, passes away at 87,” Northwest Wine Report (Chehalem Mountains site, 1969 plantings, 23 varieties). northwestwinereport.com
- “Oregon Wine Pioneer Dick Erath Dies at 87,” Wine Spectator (career, Erath Winery, first commercial vintage). winespectator.com
- Oregon Wine Hall of Fame / “Oregon Wine History,” Oregon Wine Board. oregonwine.org
Want to read more?
Books we drew on and recommend for going deeper.
Oregon Wine: A Deep-Rooted HistoryScott Stursa
Pacific Pinot NoirJohn Winthrop Haeger
Voodoo Vintners: Oregon’s Astonishing Biodynamic WinegrowersKatherine ColeAs an Amazon Associate, Wine History Tours earns from qualifying purchases. This supports our research at no extra cost to you.
