Does anyone remember "Grateful Red"??

[Jenise]

It was a very popular label for an Oregon winery called Red Hawk, and friends and I are trying to remember what famous (at least in some circles) person was the original owner. I think it was someone in the rock music world, and they think it was a writer, like a Tom Robbins type. Google searches failed to reveal anything. All we know is that it was "run down" when the new owners bought it in 2005.

Tom Robinson, he had some of the craziest and wackiest cartoon wine labels. (“Chateau MooTom”, “Great White”, “Jug Wine”, “”Bear Blanc”, “Winosaurus”). He was honored that the Decanter Wine Magazine awarded him a top contender in the “worst wine label category”; The “Grateful Red” is the only one that survived.

Salute

[Jenise]

Robbins, actually, not Robinson. "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues". My friends agree. Interesting to note that the new owners kept the label but mention nothing about previous ownership!

Hi Jenise,
If you are interested in the history of Oregon wine the Linfield College –Oregon wine history archive is a good place to start. Check out the -”1992 International Pinot Noir Celebration” program booklet, scroll down to page 32 of the booklet.

http://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/ipnc_docs/18/

Salute

[Jenise]

Victor, funny you should bring that up. We were THERE, at IPNC, with the couple who were trying to remember the name of Redhawk's first owner. They're the ones who went to the winery while we were there and came back with the stories and bottles of Grateful Red. So just now I found this reference somewhere else: "Redhawk Winery, founded in 1988 by Tom Robinson and purchased by current owners John and Betty Pataccoli in 2005, is known for producing value-priced pinot noir."

So thinking that the reason we can find no information about the quirky famous author or rocker who originally owned the winery is that there was no such person, I called the winery and talked to the current owner. No Tom Robbins, just Tom Robinson who still lives in the Salem area. Not sure in what wine-enhanced state my Grateful Dead-fan friends heard 'Robinson' and thought Robbins, but they loved the cheap red wine and free black glasses they got that day and there it has remained in their memories since, the day they met Tom Robbins, and entirely fabricated. Thanks for leading me to the answer.

“Northwest Wine Country-Wines New Frontier” written by Kathleen and Gerald Hill has a reference to Redhawk Vineyards. The founder Tom Robinson was a New Zealander and his winemaker was also a New Zealander. The Redhawk Vineyard was planted in 1979, the vines became bearing in approximately 1983, and the Redhawk Vineyard began participating in Oregon’s Vineyard Survey Reports in 1986. (I think).

Salute