With their baby in a backpack as they picked, they experienced the excitement of the wine process for the first time. Dick was bitten by the winemaking bug, and shortly thereafter, he began making wine from just about anything that would ferment, including the fruit from their backyard fruit trees.  Within two years, he had moved on to bigger and better things – grapes!! (Thankfully) Together with a few friends, Dick and the family began picking, crushing, pressing, barrel-aging and bottling wine as home winemakers, From 1981 to 2002, they picked grapes and made Cabernet Sauvignon exclusively from their friends’ vineyard on Tubbs Lane in Calistoga, California.

Off and on through the 1980’s and 90’s, they searched for vineyard property throughout the Napa Valley, Sonoma and Santa Cruz but were never able to find a property that suited their needs. In 2002, however, Dick and Pat began looking for vineyard property once again, and they found a vineyard site in Southern Oregon. The beauty of the vineyard, the views of the mountains, and the warm sunshine were very appealing. By August of 2003, they became owners of the 26-acre parcel now known as Ellis Vineyards.