About Ricochet Wine Company
Erich Berg came to wine sideways, out of Chicago's fine-dining scene, moving to Oregon in 2004 to learn to make it. His first harvest was at Domaine Serene; a few years in he needed reconstructive hip surgery, and he later spent time at Day Wines, one of the earlier movers in Oregon's natural wine scene.
Ricochet started in 2018 with two tons of fruit, Pinot Noir and Gruner Veltliner, and no intention of becoming a business. Berg was making wine for himself and his friends. Restaurant people took to the Gruner, then the Pinot, labels got printed, and it turned into a winery. It now makes over three thousand cases of Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir, Tempranillo, Pinot Blanc, Gruner Veltliner and a sparkling Pet-Nat, low-intervention throughout.
The name carries a commitment: five per cent of wine sales go to local and regional nonprofits that help people bounce back from difficult situations. The winery also runs as a shared production space, with several small partner producers making their wines on site, and Berg founded the Indie Wine Mixer in 2022 as a way to put independent Oregon producers in front of drinkers without the usual pricing.
In July 2024 he took over an old manufacturing building a short walk from downtown McMinnville, in what has become the Indie Wine District. The Ricochet Et al. Wine Bar sits inside it, an industrial-chic room looking straight into the working winery. Two flights rotate every fortnight: one of Ricochet's own wines, one drawn from the partner producers.
Two tons of fruit in 2018, no plan to sell any of it, now three thousand cases and a shared winery.
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An accidental winery,started in 2018 with two tons of fruit and no intention of going commercial until restaurant friends pushed for it.
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Five per cent goes out,five per cent of wine sales are donated to nonprofits helping people bounce back, which is where the name comes from.
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Taste the neighbours,the Et al. flight pours wines from the small partner producers who make their wine in the same building.
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Unusual grapes,Gamay Noir, Tempranillo, Pinot Blanc, Gruner Veltliner and a sparkling Pet-Nat alongside the Pinot Noir.
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You can see the winery,the wine bar sits inside the production space rather than in a separate room.
"The most interesting room in McMinnville if you want to know what small Oregon producers are actually doing."
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Wines change with each vintage
For an accurate list of current-release wines and library bottlings from Ricochet Wine Company, please check the winery'Willamette Valley producers typically rotate vintages and offerings seasonally.
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