During the economic recession of 2001, and Owen Roe’s first couple vintages as a winery, Oregon Pinot Noir growers were facing hardship in selling their fruit, come harvest time. At Owen Roe, we wanted to help our farming friends and prevent missing out on such well-tended, beautiful fruit. We were presented with the difficult and costly purchasing of grapes to process, cellar and bottle, waiting several months to recover our costs on the finished wine. To overcome this obstacle, we decided to bring back the historical business practice of sharecropping, resulting in the aptly named wine, "Sharecropper’s.” This partnership meant that Owen Roe would take the fruit, make the wine and once it was sold, share the profits with our growers. This remains an important part of our history and due to the success of this wine; we are now able to pay our growers upfront.