Ted Gerber is the owner/manager of Foris Vineyards in Cave Junction, Oregon, which he established in 1975. Grapes were all sold until 1986 when Foris Winery was established. After the first 6 years as winemaker, a transition to focus more on vineyard development brought Sarah Powell as our winemaker. Over the last 35 years, Sarah was followed by Brian Wilson and now Stephanie Pao as winemakers. All 3 have had Oregon, California and international winemaker careers.
Ted’s focus at Foris has been on viticulture and business development. Many papers & research projects in conjunction with Oregon State University, Oregon Extension Service, and USDA included nematodes, frost protection, crown gall, trellising, and fertilization. Having no existing grape or wine industry in Southern Oregon, it was with the help of OSU growers and wineries that the viability became apparent. At the time of establishment, the mistaken belief was “you can’t grow wine grapes north of Mendocino”. Oregon now has almost 1,000 wineries and an international reputation for quality. Media Inquiries: Ted Gerber gerberted@hotmail.com | https://www.foriswine.com/
What’s the ONE THING most unique, authentic, & memorable about your brand?
Vineyard planting began in 1974 when there were no wineries in our “eventual” Rogue Appellation. Today, Foris is the only winery in the Illinois Valley, seven miles from the Oregon/California border. We are the most southerly winery in the Pacific Northwest at 1500 feet elevation, located halfway between Sonoma and the Willamette Valley. We are somewhat isolated from foot traffic. 35 distributors across the US help sell our 150 acres of estate fruit.
My personal experience, after graduating from college and before I was old enough to vote, was to go to law school. Vietnam caused a military induction refusal. Needed money and a factory job making wine bottles provided the four years of saving and a way to move to Oregon. Home winemaking was the impetus of the land purchase and viticulture. The evolution of understanding our location has caused an education in grape farming and varieties. Pinot Noir and Gewurztraminer were in the first planting and are still important today. Bordeaux varieties with cool fall nights have been tried and removed. Alsatian and Burgundy varieties are the appropriate choices.
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained.
After previously custom farming several hundred acres, getting bigger is not the dream. 150 acres of estate fruit and about 40–45 thousand cases seem to be a comfortable size to be on the national and international stage.
With 4 vineyard properties, housing for a good portion of employees, 30,000 sq ft of winery buildings, and 1000 oak barrels, more is not wanted. Wine quality and process efficiency is the present focus. A generational transition may or may not happen depending on kids want in their lives.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and/or winemaking style? Tell us its story.
Oregon and Foris Vineyards & Winery are all about Pinot Noir. We had the largest planting of Dijon clones when they were first released in 1989. Greenhouse mist propagation of 225 vines available to each Oregon grower turned into Foris planting 8,000 vines 6 months later. Pinot Noir per bottle brings us the most money of all our varieties. Read my review of the 2024 Estate Pinot Noir here.
I should also mention the role of Dry Gewurztraminer in our vineyards and valley, which holds a special place in my history. Working at the bottle factory in 1970, my girlfriend and eventual wife came to the factory at 12 o’clock midnight to tell me my house was burning down. Stopping by a liquor store on the way to the burning house, I bought a dusty bottle of Gewurztraminer. The first one I ever had. It was consumed while watching the fire with friends. Learn why Gewurztraminer was important in the history of Foris Vineyards.
Bonus Question: Why Winemaking?
Viticulture started as a desire to do something real — not just talk about it, like I did in college. When we arrived in the Illinois Valley, “doing” meant building a three-story house with three handsaws and no electricity. That set the tone.
Once the grapes began producing, winemaking was the natural next step. Then came the next question: where do you sell it? Suddenly, you don’t just need to be a winemaker. You need to be a marketer. And you need a bank that believes in you. Step by step, those needs — and the experience that followed — shaped what became Foris Vineyards Winery.
The decision to grow grapes and make wine was rooted in the 1960s San Francisco back-to-the-land movement. The question was simple: how do you make a living in a rural place and stay true to your values?
In 1969, the grower who sold me my first wine grapes told me, “Go to Oregon. You can get started with a strong back and no money.” The line came from his friend in Roseburg, Philippe Girardet, who was just beginning to plant wine grapes himself. That advice stuck.
Back to the land meant hay and cows. A garden every year. Children born at home — with a midwife, a doctor, and me in the living room.
Winemaking and viticulture didn’t just provide a livelihood. They built a life.