Hood River winemaker rebuilds after fire

He has lived quite the life, traveling the world and working in many different industries before settling amongst the vines of his property in the Gorge. However, the new construction at Hood River Winery was not so much a business decision by Lerch as a necessity.

In 2019, a wildfire occurred that caused serious damage to the vineyard and original building at Hood River Winery. Winds at 30 mph spread the flames quickly and subtly, pushing most of the smoke low to the ground.

After further inspection, five original ignition spots were found that had sparked from fireworks, but Lerch had only noticed one of these fires. He attempted to fight it off for almost 30 minutes before getting to safety and allowing the fire department to take over. They brought in tools to contain the spread including an excavator, and once flames spread up under the eaves of the main building where bare wood was exposed, they were forced to punch holes in the roof to dispel the remaining fire.

“The fire department showed up to contain and control the fire. They said it reached 1,800 degrees inside the building. It was a complete loss within 20 minutes,” said Lerch.

Though the fire did end, much of his equipment was lost or destroyed in the process of containing the wildfire, and his space for creating and tasting wines was ruined.

Fast forward to 2022, when Lerch completed the newly-dubbed “hospitality center” and opened the space to visitors once again.

“I worked as my own general contractor for the project, which saved me a lot of money and headaches,” he said. But Lerch struggled with high contractor turnover and securing materials, a familiar narrative among mid-pandemic supply chain issues. Working as the general contractor allowed Lerch to make hands-on, executive decisions about the layout and utility of the new space. He also went through extensive permitting processes to build the commercial building, which was difficult considering the development and construction occurred in the Gorge Scenic Area.

Despite these hiccups, Lerch is excited to have completed the building, be open for tastings again and to show off the space as well as his new systems and equipment, such as a German membrane press and crusher/destemmer, crossflow filtration, and three-phase generator. He knows every detail of his building, which is constructed almost entirely out of Douglas fir.

“I’m a form over function guy,” he said as he pointed out new features, from 6 inch cross-laminated subfloor to structurally insulated panels on the walls and roof. With new timber framing and crossbeams, the space comes together to create a warm, open room complete with natural light, high ceilings, and of course vineyard views. It feels regal yet comfortable, perfect for an afternoon of wine tasting.

The bar top is made from a slab of Douglas fir about 3 inches thick and 27 inches long, cut to reveal the woodgrain and finished with a simple shine.

Lerch started his journey with grapes around the age of 12, when he bottled his first wine. His father was a winemaker and despite leading a busy life, Lerch always made time to craft his own beer and wine, often winning awards. He chose to study enzymology in college, knowing it was important in the fermentation process, and eventually got his Ph.D. in chemistry.

Lerch spent most of his post-doctorate research at MIT and Harvard, later exploring Switzerland. He was also active in the political realm in the 1960s, working with different politicians such as Carl B. Stokes and Bobby Kennedy up until his assassination. For 30 years, Lerch was as an active scientist, working as an engineer at NASA on Apollos 8-16 and later starting four different engineering companies.

Due to travel for both work and leisure, Lerch has managed to visit every major winemaking region in the world. He also frequented Vinexpo most years in France, an international wine event with more than 400 vendors and 36,000 visitors. In the 1990s, Lerch served as chairman of the Oregon Wine Board and president of the Oregon Winegrowers Association.

By early 1990, Lerch and his wife were living in Palo Alto in the San Francisco Bay Area. However, they were looking for a change in environment so they began to explore Oregon. Lerch was tired of his five hour commute across the Bay to work and the couple were hoping for a new atmosphere to raise their three children.

They started to visit different corners of the state and, one fateful drive to Portland, saw the trees and lush valley of the Gorge. It was then Lerch felt certain that they had found their next home.

“We scoped out the Hood River area and I ended up coming back to visit 13 times in one year, I just couldn’t get enough of it here,” he said.

Once Lerch and his wife found the Columbia River Gorge, they were smitten.

“We fell in love with it, like so many others do,” Lerch said. They eventually purchased an orchard in the Hood River area, where they grew mainly cherries and pears, but also found space for apples, peaches, plums, and nectarines.

“If something grows, it’ll grow here. I just love being outside working with the vines and fruits, I love working with my hands in the soil,” Lerch said.

Soon after he set his sights on buying Hood River Winery. The original structure on the vineyard that was destroyed in the 2019 fire was built in the 1870s, while the vineyard itself was built in the 1970s. Lerch and his wife ran the winery for roughly 15 months before fully purchasing and owning the property in the early 1990s. They scaled back by selling their orchard, but turned up production at the vineyard and within the first six years Lerch increased production from 500 cases to 12,000 cases of wine.

There was a time he even remembers being the only winery in the area; he recalled Cathedral Ridge opening up around 2000 as the next biggest winery in Hood River, quickly followed by spaces in The Dalles, Lyle, Mosier, and Underwood Mountain.

When it comes to wine, Lerch considers himself an experimentalist, but most would probably prefer the term expert. Wines, ports, and sherries are his current passions and, more specifically, he prefers European wines.

“I tend to make wines for myself. I make what I like and hope that translates to other people,” he said.

Lerch has planted many different grape varietals at the vineyard, producing a range of wines from Bordeaux, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Moscato, Gewürztraminer, and more. He tends not to use oak barrels for very long, or much oak at all, and no longer tests his grapes for things like sugar levels and acidity — instead he simply tastes the grapes and knows just what they need.

Though the fire did partially destroy vines on the property, Hood River Winery is still a functioning vineyard. Lerch uses dryland farming, a process that relies on ground water, rainfall, and soil moisture to support his vines, though he did install irrigation options during recent construction. The self-rooted farm is on fertile, volcanic land that is ready to produce wines, ports, and sherries. Luckily, Lerch stored enough bottles over the last few years to have inventory, but he will push to craft a larger inventory after focusing on construction so heavily for the last couple years. His goal is to get production back on track, with his sights set on 5,000 cases annually.

For now, the winery is open for tastings everyday 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. He plans to complete construction of the kitchen by summer and feature a simple menu with items like cold sandwiches.

The winemaker is also considering hosting more involved dinner nights with wine pairings, and may even use the space for events and small weddings.

Despite lingering construction materials and cleanup, make sure you visit the vineyard for a firsthand look at the new hospitality space. Hood River Vineyards and Winery is located at 4693 Westwood Drive in Hood River.