Coattails

Coattails is a partnership between the three sons of Michael G. Etzel — Jared, Michael Jr., and Nathan. They grew up on the Beaux Frères estate, where their father had moved the family in 1987 after spotting a classified ad for a foreclosed pig farm while on vacation. Each left in turn for Oregon State, and each came back having learned the craft firsthand from as far back as their memories go.

They released their first vintage in 2007, dedicated to the memory of their mother Jacqueline, who played a significant part in planting the Beaux Frères Vineyard.

Then in January 2024 they did something no Oregon wine family had done in forty years. Nathan — the youngest, an electrical engineer by training who’d been homebrewing for years — bought a five-barrel brewhouse and installed it inside the Sequitur winemaking facility on the Etzel Farm. Not since the Ponzis founded BridgePort in 1984 had an Oregon winemaking family taken up brewing.

The beer reflects the winemaking sensibility. Small output and premium expectations gave Nathan room to work with artisan craft maltsters and build nuanced beers that aren’t dominated by hops — old-world German-style lagers, balanced IPAs, and a range in between. No Brett beers, which he’ll tell you directly.

The wines carry the same intent: meticulous vineyard stewardship, precision in the cellar, and a deliberate approach to how they’re presented.

Coattails beer turns up on tap around wine country — Newberg, Dundee, Carlton, and McMinnville — and Nathan has talked about packaging in Belgian-style bottles and eventually hosting beer and wine tastings together at Sequitur. Which, given how much beer it reportedly takes to make good wine, seems overdue.