Making Wine & Giving Back

By Lisa Gmur, CSW

When Joe Dobbes launched his winery, Dobbes Family Estate, back in 2002. He had a vision; a Pinot Noir led, traditionally crafted Burgundian style portfolio from traditional and emerging AVAs primarily within the Willamette and Rogue Valleys. Before this, Joe had worked for 17 years in the business for others internationally and in Oregon. But his dream pushed him to pursue his own business, against all odds.

Joe started this company with what he says was “… a small amount of money in my back pocket, a lot of experience and passion, and sufficient ignorance of what I was up against.” Twenty years later, Dobbes Family Estate is going strong. Their multi-faceted wine company is in their second-generation as they continue what Joe started 20 years ago.

In 2018, they launched “Wine by Joe,” their line-up of “really good Oregon wines at really good prices.” Most recently they added “Joe to Go,” a trio of canned wines. Wine by Joe and Joe to Go are the younger siblings of the original Dobbes wines and offer a collection of very approachable wines in 750 ml’s, 375 ml’s and cans, one of the fastest growing wine categories.

Dobbes Family Estate is one of Oregon’s largest producers vinifying over 200,000 cases annually. Their wines are sourced from their 214-acre estate vineyard, Seabreeze, as well as other great locations throughout Oregon’s wine growing regions.

This includes a collection of vineyards spanning from the Dundee Hills, Chehalem Mountains, Eola-Amity and McMinnville appellations in both the Willamette and Rogue Valleys.

Dobbes Family Estate; Dundee, Oregon

Dobbes Family Estate is also about more than wine. They are firmly committed to “Giving Back,” and for helping the planet to survive. The Dobbes Family Estate is a proud member of “1% For The Planet,” an organization that supports thousands of environmental and social justice focused non-profits.

In fact, they donate 1% of their gross sales each year to a variety of “1% For The Planet” approved partners. They are equally engaged and committed to Portland based Partners in Diversity; a non-profit aimed at attracting, developing, and maintaining diversity influencers and professionals of color.

AHIVOY, another Dobbes Family Estate philanthropy is a non-profit organization creating opportunities and empowering Latinx and Hispanic vineyard workers of the Willamette Valley to overcome socioeconomic challenges.

Since 2004, the Dobbes Family Estate charitable giving program has given their individual employees the opportunity to select a cause that has special meaning to them, to which they donate 10% of sales of a select wine during that quarter.

In 2021, the Center for Diversity & the Environment was selected. They are a group who harnesses the power of racial and ethnic diversity to transform the US environmental movement by developing leaders, catalyzing change within institutions, and building alliances.