Richard Hopkins
(1931-2015)

Richard Hopkins co-founded the Oregon Wine Press Magazine with his wife Elaine Cohen in 1984.  He loved writing and spent most of his professional career writing about Oregon Wine.  He was a respected wine writer and Oregon wine booster as well as a critic. 

He was born and raised in Vancouver Washington and graduated from Reed College and earned his Master’s in English from Washington University in St. Louis.

After college he returned to Portland and started creating newsletters for organizations such as Project Return, for returning Vietnam vets.  He also helped start Big Fir Winery.  (See Pioneering Wineries.)   In 1984 the North Willamette chapter of the Oregon Winegrowers’ Association asked Hopkins and Cohen to help create a newsletter for the Associations’ members.

The newsletter eventually evolved into the Oregon Wine Press.

Hopkins “liked to get people upset” his wife said.  It was his way of promoting positive change.  Hopkins editorials were very popular with the readers.  To understand why, go to the “Wine Press editorial section” of this site.)  He was also loyal to his profession and his position within the Oregon wine industry.  He once stated “I don’t want to make more money than the winemaker” and we never did according to Cohen.  Hopkins and Cohen helped promote Oregon B & B’s and restaurants through the Magazine.

Hopkins would change his appearance based on the reporting assignment and the occasion.  According to Cohen for the 22 years as editor of the Wine Press “he always wore jeans with suspenders, Birkenstocks and of course a hat”.

Richard Hopkins passed away in November 2015.