Stoller Wine Group purchases Elouan brand from California giant Copper Cane

Elouan

, a portfolio of wines made in California with Oregon grapes, has been acquired by

Stoller Wine Group

in Dayton, Oregon. A brand that was once a thorn in the side of the Oregon wine industry and state regulators is coming home.

The announcement that Stoller had purchased the Elouan brand from

Copper Cane Wines & Provisions

in Rutherford, California, was officially made early this morning in a news release. Copper Cane was founded in 2014 by Joseph “Joe” Wagner, a fifth-generation Napa Valley winemaker who said his goal for Elouan was to make “Oregon wines with a hint of California influence.”

The sale adds Elouan to a Stoller wine portfolio that includes Stoller Family Estate, Chehalem Winery, Chemistry, Stoller Swing and History labels. By adding the Elouan wines to their portfolio, Hannah Guth, communications coordinator for the Stoller Wine Group, said Stoller’s total annual case production will grow from 170,000 to 300,000.

Most of that addition is due to Elouan’s pinot noir, which, according to Gary Mortensen, president of Stoller Wine Group, is “the No. 3 selling pinot noir from Oregon across the country.”

Mortensen added that Stoller hopes to leverage Elouan’s extensive distribution network to get Stoller’s wines into the hands of more consumers.

Elouan first hit the Oregon wine industry’s radar in 2017 with wine labels and marketing materials that mentioned specific Oregon American Viticultural Areas, or AVAs, such as the Willamette Valley. In 2018, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) argued that Elouan’s listing of specific Oregon AVAs violated state and federal labeling laws.

Rep. David Gomberg, Oregon House District 10, with an early Elouan case box improperly displaying three AVAs simultaneously.

Michael Alberty/For The Oregonian

A Fred Meyer display featuring Elouan wines and Copper Cane owner Joe Wagner.

Michael Alberty/For The Oregonian

Those laws state that when grapes are taken across the Oregon state line to make wine in another state, a company such as Copper Cane is required to use a generic “Oregon” on its label to describe its appellation of origin.

The OLCC argued that these violations justified

revoking Copper Cane’s wine licenses

. Instead of

appealing the decision

, in 2021, Wagner decided to settle by paying a

$50,000 fine

without admitting guilt.

With Stoller’s acquisition, Mortensen said the Elouan wines would now be made in-state, hopefully making Elouan an “Oregon icon.”

This is an ongoing story that will be updated.

— Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. He can be reached at malberty0@gmail.com.

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