Erica Orr has worked in the wine industry since 1998. Her first harvest was with Cathy Corison in the Napa Valley. That experience prompted Erica to enroll in the enology master's degree program at UC Davis where she researched the indigenous yeast microflora in native chardonnay barrel fermentations. She completed her master's degree in 2003.
She gained practical experience by working harvests at several highly regarded wineries around the world. Erica learned to work with pinot noir and chardonnay at Domaine Dujac, one of Burgundy's premier producers and with Gary Farrell in the Russian River Valley of California. In the southern hemisphere, she worked a vintage in the Yarra Valley of Victoria, Australia at Yering Station. She learned the nuances of working with high-end Napa Valley Cabernets through her harvest experiences at Cain Vineyard and Corison and as the enologist at Rudd Estate. Most recently, Erica was the assistant winemaker at Matthews Cellars in Woodinville, Washington. Her current consulting clients include Baer Winery and Guardian Cellars. In 2014, she released an old vine chenin blanc under her own label called Orr Wines.
In addition to her master's degree from UC Davis, Erica’s scientific training includes a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from UC Berkeley and three years of research experience as a biochemistry lab technician for 2009 Nobel Laureate Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn at UC San Francisco. As a San Francisco Bay Area native, she is passionate about food and wine, and dedicated to quality-oriented, thoughtful winemaking.
