Ryan Harms,
FOUNDER + Owner
Board of Directors
My name is Ryan Harms, and I founded Union Wine Company.
I moved to Oregon in 2001 and embraced wholeheartedly the region’s unique spirit and passion for craftsmanship, finally deciding in 2005 to satisfy that entrepreneurial bug that had been nagging me to start something that I could be proud of.
I’ve worked for some great Oregon wineries throughout my career. In so many cases, my friends wanted to support us, but simply couldn’t afford to. I decided that I wasn’t going to accept that wine made in Oregon had to be expensive. So, Union is about creating something that I can share with friends and family and make accessible, without sacrificing quality.
We opened up shop and made it our mission at Union to pay close attention to the details, while leaving the fussy parts behind. By being efficient about everything, from how we set up the winery to how we make wine, we knew we could successfully create that marriage of craft and small-scale manufacturing. We chose the name Union to honor and bring together the diversity, spirit and character of Oregon that we love.
At the end of the day, wine is just a beverage. And then it becomes part of something greater. It brings people together over a meal, for celebrations big and small. And that’s incredibly satisfying to me, and to all of us at Union.