“Vineyard workers are essential to the Washington state wine industry and their contributions often go unsung. Crafted with donated grapes from Stillwater Creek Vineyard, proceeds from the sale of this wine benefit Columbia Valley vineyard workers through a donation to the Othello clinic of the Columbia Basin Health Association.” -Orr wines

In the summer of 2021, Erica Orr from Orr Wines reached out to me for a potential label collaboration. I met her at a relief printmaking demonstration I was giving at Boxx Gallery in Tieton, WA, during one of my exhibitions, where she invited me to visit the vineyards in Royal Slope, Washington. She expressed her interest in not only wanting to craft a wine that recognized vineyard workers and their contributions to Washington’s wine industry, but also create a wine where the proceeds of each bottle sold could benefit Columbia Valley vineyard workers.

So, we chatted and she sent me photos of the previous harvest, and I later accompanied her to visit Stillwater Creek vineyard to converse with some of the workers and get a feel for this bucolic place.

So, I worked from the photographs, carved the imagery and Erica and her team harvested the grapes and she worked her science to craft this timely wine.

This print and wine serve as a tribute to all of la gente who tend to the vineyards day-in and day-out. Washington would not be the second-largest wine producing state in the US, without your expertise. Gracias. Y, muchas gracias to Erica Orr Wines for inviting me to be a part of this collaboration!

Gracias y salud!

“On September 15, 2020, a ton and a half of Merlot grapes donated from Stillwater Creek Vineyard were carefully handpicked in the vineyard and then trucked to the winery where we destemmed and literally hand sorted the fruit to minimize any “green” character from stems in the fermenter. Twice daily punchdowns throughout the 14-day fermentation until we pressed off. The free run and press wines were blended in tank to settle overnight. The next day we filled five neutral French oak barrels for malolactic and 18 months of barrel aging. I used Cabernet Sauvignon to top up the barrels. We bottled without fining or filtration in April 2022”.- Orr Wines

Only 130 cases produced of a rich and balanced red wine created exclusively for the Vineyard Worker Project.”

If you want to learn more about this project and purchase any wine please visit Orr Wines

Each print is produced using a manual printing press, and the prints print will be unique and may differ slightly from the pictured original. This is the beauty of relief block printing.

Limited edition of 30 E.V. Each print will be numbered out of 30 prints.

Paper Size: 15”x 22”

Image Size: 10”x14”

Paper: Arches BFK white, Bfk tan, and Stonehenge Kraft 100% cotton fibers, acid free

*print does not come framed

Shipping: Prints are carefully packaged and shipped in an artist tube and will be shipped in 3-5 business days.