Orr Royal Slope Red

“Especially being in Woodinville, it’s easy for me to ignore vineyard workers,” says Erica Orr, owner and winemaker at Orr Wines in the town’s Warehouse District.

Indeed, Woodinville is located 100+ miles from eastern Washington’s vineyards. Wineries located in the town truck their grapes from the vineyards that they work with.

During the pandemic, vineyard workers were deemed “essential workers” and continued to work in the field during an uncertain time. Orr wanted to highlight and honor the contributions of these workers to the Washington wine industry. She had heard about volunteer programs at Microsoft where workers are encouraged to use their specific skill set to positively impact other people’s lives.

“I thought, well, I know how to make wine,” says Orr, who is also consulting winemaker for Baer Winery. “Why don’t I make wine and then use the proceeds to somehow help vineyard workers?”

Each year, vineyards often have grapes that are left unsold. This was particularly true in 2020, given the year’s uncertainty. Orr asked vineyard manager Ed Kelly at Stillwater Creek Vineyard in the Royal Slope if the vineyard would donate unsold grapes to make a wine to help the vineyard’s workers. Kelly said yes.

That year, Orr got a ton and a half of Merlot from Stillwater Creek. Orr and her assistant hand sorted the fruit at the winery, looking to improve wine quality while not significantly increasing cost.

Orr had seen Christie Tirado’s block art work on America’s essential workers. It featured cherry, apple, and hops pickers in Yakima Valley.

“Her artwork is really powerful,” Orr says.

Orr asked whether Tirado would consider making a piece of art representing vineyard workers. Tirado travelled to Stillwater Creek Vineyard, met with the workers there, and subsequently created a piece of art, commissioned by Orr, to represent them.

Come 2022, Orr’s Royal Slope Red was now in bottle and labeled with Tirado’s artwork. However, there was just one problem. Orr hadn’t yet found a place to give the money.

Orr talked to people across the industry doing similar things, including Vital Wines in Walla Walla, Salud! in Willamette Valley, and the Napa Valley Farm Workers Foundation. They recommended that she conduct a needs assessment of the vineyard workers.

With help from Stillwater’s vineyard manager, they completed the assessment. However, the needs were broad.

Stillwater Creek Vineyard by Richard Duval

“They needed everything,” Orr says. “I was way out of my depth.”

Eventually, Orr learned that the vineyard workers received vaccinations from the Columbia Basin Health Association Othello Clinic. The clinic allowed Orr to donate the money with the following strings attached: All of the money needed to be used to help the people who grow grapes at Stillwater Creek Vineyard.

In 2023, the clinic conducted its first Vineyard Worker Health Day for workers at Stillwater Creek Vineyard. Subsequent days have taken place in 2024 and 2025.

Production of the Orr Royal Slope Red is small. Orr only makes four to five barrels of the wine each year. DIAM donates the corks. PCC sells the wine at all locations. It is also available at Leschi Market and several Thriftways (Ballinger, Morgan) and Town & Countries (Mill Creek). The wine is also available on the Orr Wines website.

Since the first year, Orr Wines has donated $33,000 to the clinic. The money has helped pay for dental screenings, vision and hearing tests, blood pressure checks, blood glucose tests, and vaccinations.

It’s a small but important part of giving back to the people who make winemaking possible.

“We could not do what we do without them,” Orr says.

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