Erath Winery

Dick Erath (1935-2023) was born in Alameda, California, and studied electronics and engineering after joining the United States Naval Reserve. In 1965 he made his first barrel of wine in his garage, and he went on to study at the University of California, Davis. Looking for cool areas to grow varieties such as Riesling and Pinot Noir, he took a job at Tektronix, an electronics company in Beaverton, Oregon, and moved his family to the Willamette Valley in 1968. That year he bought a 49-acre parcel near Newberg, in the Chehalem Mountains, and for the first three years the family lived in a logger's cabin by the vineyard with no heat and no insulation. In 1969 he planted four acres to more than 20 varieties, including Pinot Noir. The site sits high on a shoulder of the southern edges of the Chehalem Mountains, just across the treeline from Ribbon Ridge AVA. In 1971 Cal Knudsen, a lawyer and timber industry executive then living in Seattle, approached Erath about establishing a vineyard, and Erath left Tektronix to focus on grape growing at Knudsen's vineyard and on his own site. Erath Winery made its first wine in 1972, and in 1975 the two men formed Knudsen-Erath. Operating as Bonded Winery No. 52, it was the first commercial winery in the Dundee Hills, and by 1987 it was producing 35,000 cases a year. Wine & Spirits magazine named its Vintage Select Pinot Noir the best American Pinot Noir in 1984. Erath and Knudsen went their separate ways in the late 1980s, and Dick Erath continued to make wine under the Erath name. Production kept growing: by 2006 the winery was producing more than 70,000 cases a year and distributing nationally and internationally.

• 1965: Dick Erath makes his first barrel of wine in his garage in California
• 1968: moves his family to the Willamette Valley and buys a 49-acre parcel near Newberg, in the Chehalem Mountains
• 1969: plants four acres to more than 20 varieties, including Pinot Noir
• 1972: first commercial vintage
• 1975: Knudsen-Erath formed with Cal Knudsen; as Bonded Winery No. 52 it is the first commercial winery in the Dundee Hills
• Late 1980s: the partnership ends and the winery continues as Erath

Dick Erath was one of a small group, with David Lett, Charles Coury, David Adelsheim and Dick Ponzi, who came to the Willamette Valley convinced that Pinot Noir had a bright future in Oregon. In 1975 the Oregon Winemakers Project, an effort led by Dick Ponzi, Dick Erath and Oregon State University, planted clones to assess which could be viable for the area. In 1980 David Adelsheim, Dick Erath and David Lett petitioned the state department of agriculture to establish a wine commission. Erath's own history page credits its founder with planting non-California clones and producing the first commercial wine in the Dundee Hills. With part of the proceeds from the 2006 sale, Dick Erath established the Erath Family Foundation, which by 2023 had donated more than $2 million to wine and viticultural education programs, including at Oregon State University and Linfield College.

• One of the group of early Willamette Valley Pinot Noir growers with David Lett, Charles Coury, David Adelsheim and Dick Ponzi
• 1975: Oregon Winemakers Project clone plantings, led by Dick Ponzi, Dick Erath and Oregon State University
• 1980: petitions for a state wine commission with David Adelsheim and David Lett
• Erath Family Foundation: more than $2 million donated to wine and viticultural education programs by 2023

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Washington's largest winery, bought Erath in 2006. Private equity firm Sycamore Partners bought Ste. Michelle Wine Estates in 2021. In 2022 Ste. Michelle acquired A to Z Wineworks and its sister label Rex Hill, which together with Erath brought its annual Oregon production to approximately 700,000 cases. The Wyckoff family's purchase of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates closed in December 2025, and the Oregon brands and properties were not part of the sale. Erath, A to Z and Rex Hill continue to be owned by Sycamore Partners, and the teams that support the Oregon wine business are employees of A to Z Wineworks LLC, a standalone company owned by Sycamore. Ste. Michelle Wine Estates serves as the US sales agent for the three brands. As of December 2025, Amy Prosenjak is CEO of A to Z Wineworks. Erath was producing approximately 300,000 cases a year as of March 2023.

• 2006: Ste. Michelle Wine Estates buys Erath
• 2021: Sycamore Partners buys Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
• 2022: Ste. Michelle acquires A to Z Wineworks and Rex Hill; with Erath, Oregon production reaches approximately 700,000 cases a year
• December 2025: the Wyckoff family buys Ste. Michelle Wine Estates; Erath, A to Z and Rex Hill stay with Sycamore Partners, with Ste. Michelle as US sales agent
• Production: approximately 300,000 cases a year as of March 2023

Leah Adint is Head Winemaker. She joined Erath's winemaking team in 2021 and was appointed Head Winemaker in 2022, the fourth person to hold the role in Erath's history. She graduated from Washington State University with a bachelor's degree in Viticulture and Enology and earned a master's degree in Oenology at the University of Adelaide in 2012. Before Erath she held viticulture and winemaking positions in California, Australia, France, Switzerland, Washington and Oregon, including time as red winemaker at Berri Estates in Australia, and joined Chateau Ste. Michelle as a traveling winemaker in 2015. As of December 2025, Amy Prosenjak is CEO of A to Z Wineworks.

• Leah Adint: Head Winemaker since 2022 (on the winemaking team since 2021); fourth Head Winemaker in Erath's history
• Adint's training: Washington State University (bachelor's, Viticulture and Enology); University of Adelaide (master's in Oenology, 2012)
• Amy Prosenjak: CEO of A to Z Wineworks as of December 2025

Erath works with vineyard partners across Oregon, selecting grapes from vineyards around the state. The winery is in the Dundee Hills, with a Newberg, Oregon address. Its single-vineyard wines come from sites in the Chehalem Mountains, Dundee Hills, Yamhill-Carlton, Eola-Amity Hills and Laurelwood District AVAs. Knight's Gambit is a Dundee Hills vineyard, Willakia Vineyard is in the Eola-Amity Hills, and Carabella is an early-ripening vineyard. Coles Valley is one of its Pinot Gris sites. The current range also lists The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater among its appellations.

• Grapes from vineyard partners across Oregon
• Single-vineyard appellations: Chehalem Mountains, Dundee Hills, Yamhill-Carlton, Eola-Amity Hills, Laurelwood District
• Named sites: Knight's Gambit (Dundee Hills), Willakia (Eola-Amity Hills), Carabella (early-ripening), Coles Valley (Pinot Gris)

The range is led by Pinot Noir and also takes in rosé, white, sparkling and Syrah. Current releases include Erath Oregon Pinot Noir, Erath Reserve Pinot Noir, Resplendent Pinot Noir and Resplendent Chardonnay, Erath Oregon Pinot Gris, Erath Oregon Pinot Noir Rosé, Winemaker Series Reserve Rosé, Sweet Harvest Pinot Gris and a Pinot Noir Syrah Co-Ferment. Resplendent Pinot Noir is typically available only to restaurants. The single-vineyard collection lists Carabella, Fairsing, Knight's Gambit, Luminous Hills and Tuenge Pinot Noir and Willakia Chardonnay; a Willakia Pinot Noir is also among the current releases. La Collection Magique is a limited-production range: La Nuit Magique Pinot Noir, Le Jour Magique White Pinot Noir, L'Eclipse Magique Syrah, and the La Lumière Magique sparkling wines, made as a Chardonnay, a Pinot Blanc and a Blanc de Blancs.

• Core: Erath Oregon Pinot Noir, Erath Reserve Pinot Noir, Erath Oregon Pinot Gris, Erath Oregon Pinot Noir Rosé
• Resplendent Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; Winemaker Series Reserve Rosé; Sweet Harvest Pinot Gris; Pinot Noir Syrah Co-Ferment
• Single vineyard: Carabella, Fairsing, Knight's Gambit, Luminous Hills and Tuenge Pinot Noir; Willakia Chardonnay
• La Collection Magique: La Nuit Magique Pinot Noir, Le Jour Magique White Pinot Noir, L'Eclipse Magique Syrah, La Lumière Magique sparkling

Erath characterizes its Pinot Noir style as "light, fruit-forward, and balanced," and its winemaking page presents the collection as primarily red wines made to complement a wide range of foods. Adint explains her approach this way: "I want to use small winemaking adjustments to help better accentuate what each different vineyard wants to express. This might mean native yeast, cold soaking, whole cluster, or extended maceration." In 2023 the team continued refining whole cluster and extended maceration on the Pinot Noir. After malolactic fermentation the wines rest in French oak, and each barrel is tasted, noted and scored before blending. Erath calls itself a newly certified B Corporation wine brand and lists its Silver status membership in International Wineries for Climate Action; it is a founding winery in support of ¡Salud!, which provides healthcare to vineyard workers and their families.

• Erath's stated Pinot Noir style: light, fruit-forward and balanced
• Techniques named by Adint: native yeast, cold soaking, whole cluster, extended maceration
• French oak barrels, each tasted, noted and scored before blending

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.erath.com/, https://www.erath.com/about/, https://www.erath.com/about/history/, https://www.erath.com/about/winemaking/, https://www.erath.com/collection/single-vineyard/, https://www.erath.com/collection/current-releases/, https://www.erath.com/collection/pinot-noir/, https://www.erath.com/collection/whites-rose/, https://www.erath.com/collection/magique/, https://www.erath.com/our-commitment/, https://www.erath.com/about/oregon-pinot-noir/, https://www.erath.com/about/winemakers-journal/. Secondary sources: Oregon Wine Board (https://www.oregonwine.org/discover/oregon-wine-history/), Decanter (published 10 May 2026), Oregon Wine Press (1 May 2021), Wine Spectator (7 September 2022; 9 December 2025) and Northwest Wine Report (December 2025). Last verified 2026-10-19. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.