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Hood River wineries to sell 'smoky pinot' from grapes infused by Eagle Creek Fire

Phelps Creek Vineyards, Mount Hood Winery and Stave & Stone Winery will have tastings this weekend at their tasting rooms.

HOOD RIVER, Ore. — The Eagle Creek Fire burned for weeks in 2017 and forever changed the landscape of the Columbia River Gorge.

Bob and Lynette Morus own and operate Phelps Creek Vineyards in Hood River. They lost more than half of their harvest two summers ago due to the smoke from the fire.

Flames got within a mile of their property, then rain started and helped put the flames out. In a typical year, the Moruses bottle 3,000 cases of pinot. They only bottled 181 cases during the 2017 harvest.

What’s different about this pinot is the taste, which why they’re calling it the smoky pinot. 

“It's something different that reflects that season and brings back so many memories,” said Bob Morus.

Mount Hood Winery and Stave & Stone Winery, both out of Hood River, will also release a smoky pinot this year. Each winery will have a tasting this weekend at their tasting rooms. 

Three dollars of every bottle sold will go toward the Eagle Creek Restoration Fund, which will help rebuild trails that were destroyed during the fire.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Hood River Valley winemakers worry about smoke taste

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