History

   Following his passions, photography & wine... Eric Luse

The Eric Ross Winery began near Occidental, California, on the site of an old Italian winery.  Long time friends, and award-winning photographers for the San Francisco dailies, the Examiner and Chronicle joined together to produce wines with personalities and heartfelt passions.  Their decision was based on having personally tested hundreds of grapes and having been exposed to the state’s diverse wine growing regions in the course of their journalistic assignments. They knew Sonoma Valley, specifically Russian River Valley was the ideal spot from which to craft  wines of nuance.

 "The long, cool growing season, just above the fog line, keeps the vines temperate, yet there’s plenty of sun to ripen," Eric explains. "The cool-down at night prevents acids in the skins from dissipating, struture and flavor surely to follow. Slowly ripening developing what we’re after, fruit of great concentration, wines with great character!"

A winemakers place is not to interfere with the process it should be respecting the individual varietals with copious amounts of personal attention. "A beautiful Russian River Pinot needs to taste like Pinot with it's subtle unique nuances, not like a big & burly Syrah," Eric adds. 

 Eric Luse continues with his two "career" passions, winemaking and photography. Wine and photography are both so visually stimulating I can't imagine just having one in my life!

A foodie at heart, Eric likens the wines to a rare meal: "If you start out with really good ingredients, I mean really good, you have the fundamental components for something extraordinary." Taking advantage of this premium growing region, and by hand-crafting each vintage, Eric Ross Winery produces a small quantity of extremely remarkable wines.

While the original location lent romance and history to the Eric Ross Winery, as well as a spectacular views, Eric eventually decided looks weren't everything. Since the early "romantic days" Eric Ross now has state of the art facilities to ensure the focus is on the integrity of the wines, especially respecting the varietal differences, not the present weather forecast.