The Oregon Wine History Archive Podcast

This interview is with Carl Formaker, the winemaker for Domaine Serene. In this interview, Carl talks about his journey to finding a passion and career in wine.  Carl talks about growing up in California surrounded by vines. He shares about growing up around wine, but not viewing it as a career until later in life. Carl goes on to talk about his college days in California and studying to pursue a...

This interview is with Steve Whiteside of Bella Vida 360. In this interview, Steve speaks about his early life and first career in orthotics and prosthetics. He talks about meeting Jim and Loie Maresh and being instantly captivated by the Oregon wine industry. He then talks about embarking on his 25-year plan of buying property, installing a vineyard, building a tasting room, and starting a brand....

This interview is with Erin Brooks. In this interview, Erin talks about finding a career in the wine industry that marries her passions for writing and wine.  Erin talks about growing up in North Carolina and her first memory of accidently trying her mom’s white wine as a kid. She shares about her early passion for all things writing and how this passion pushed her to attend college in New Mexico....

This interview is with Julia Coney of Black Wine Professionals. In this interview, Julia speaks about coming to wine as her third career. She speaks about her work as a legal assistant and her first pivot as a beauty blogger. She then talks about her discovery of wine, and her increasing passion for it. Her epiphany came when she realized wine wasn't designed for her to be part of the industry, an...

This interview is with Steven Sinkler of Puffin Wines and The Wine Shack. In this interview, Steven shares about finding wine and how he came to own The Wine Shack and the Puffin Wines label.  Steven talks about growing up in Green Bay and how he didn’t find wine until later in life. He shares about finding his passion for wine and how it spurred him to become part of the industry. He then discuss...

This interview is with Matty Colston of Colston Biblio. In this interview, Matty speaks about his wine journey, from growing up in Ohio to opening his own bar in Kentucky to eventually moving to Chicago and working in a variety of restaurants there. He talks about learning wine along the way and finding kindred spirits among the wine community. From there, he talks about taking a chance on himself...

This interview is with Meghan Olivier of St. Merry Vineyard. In this interview, Meghan shares about her love for agriculture and how this passion led her to wine.  Meghan talks about growing up in Alabama and running wild in the forest. She goes on to share how this young love for the outdoors shaped her career path. She then talks about how she met her husband and how they both got invested in wi...

This interview is with Tim and Kari Ramey of Zenith Vineyard. In this interview, Tim and Kari share about how they turned their passion for wine into a successful business. Tim and Kari talk about being raised as Seattle kids and how they ended up together in college. They then share about their time spent on the East Coast, as Tim worked on Wall Street. Tim and Kari share about finding  passion f...

This interview is with Kelsey Glasser of Arden Restaurant and Raise a Glass Wines. In this interview, Kelsey speaks about her background as a professional actress and some of her experiences and achievements in that part of her life. She talks about how she came to learn about wine by working in fine dining while working as an actress, and becoming excited enough to pursue education as a sommelier...

This interview is with Alice Achayo of The Wine Linguist. In this interview, Alice talks about her journey to finding a passion and career in wine.  Alice shares about her time growing up in South Sudan and how she found herself, her sister, and her uncle coming to the United States. She goes on to talk about attending college and her first introduction to wine. Alice then discusses her time study...

This interview is with Mark and Pattie Bjornson of Bjornson Vineyard. In this interview, Mark and Pattie speak about their growing interest in wine and their desire to start a vineyard in Oregon. They talk about finding the property and planting it, and adding more vines, a winery, and a tasting room over the years. Mark speaks about vineyard practices and Pattie discusses her winemaking and growi...

This interview is with Jared Lloyd of Naked Grazing. In this interview, Jared speaks about growing up in farming and livestock in western Colorado, and learning to become a shepherd. He talks about how he grew his flock and started an interest in wine, as well as grazing-based agriculture. He then talks about coming to Oregon and using his herds to start viticulture programs while also working in...

This interview is with Mike and Patty Green of Deux Vert Vineyard. In this interview, Mike and Patty talk about their lives and time in the Oregon Wine Industry.  Mike and Patty talk about meeting and getting married before Mike had to serve. They also share about their first careers before they became involved with the wine industry. Later in the interview, the couple dives into finding the perfe...

This interview is with Jeff Quatraro of Augustine's Restaurant. In this interview, Jeff speaks about his passion for cooking and knowing that being a chef was what he wanted to do from a young age. He talks about the path he took, working in different parts of different restaurants before finding himself in Oregon. He speaks about deciding he wanted his own restaurant and how he found Augustine's,...

This interview is with Evan Rose, a winemaker at Stoller Family Estate. In this interview, Evan talks about his early love for wine and how his passion paved his career path. Evan shares about his childhood and growing up in Ohio. He dives into how he stumbled upon wine at the ripe young age of fifteen and has never looked back. He goes on to talk about his first wine job as a kid and how his wine...

This interview is with DJ Cook of Stoller Wine Group. In this interview, DJ speaks about growing up with a passion for plants and learning horticulture and botany. A chance to work with grapevines sparked his interest and he talks about how he pursued viticulture in California and New Zealand. A desire to come back to Oregon brought him first to Archery Summit and then to Stoller. He speaks about...

This interview is with K'Sondra Fredrickson of Stoller Wine Group. In this interview, K'Sondra speaks about finding an enthusiasm for wine while working in a tasting room, and then a passion once she started to work in production.  From there she talks about working at various places in California and New Zealand, including work in a research winery. She discusses how she had desired to come back...

This interview is with David and Angela Anderson of Syndicate Wine Bar. In this interview, David and Angela talk about their lives and journey to opening Syndicate.  David, a Linfield Alumni, talks about his early life and his memories of finding wine. He then goes on to share about his career in web design. Angela talks about her time as a business student and her early career related to escrow....

This interview is with Doug Shumaker of Shumaker Vineyards. In this interview, Doug speaks about his early life and interest in farming, followed by his career in medicine. He discusses an interest in having a vineyard and producing wine, which factored in the decision to purchase a house that had potential vineyard land. From there, he talks about planting his vines and starting the brand, includ...

This interview is with Jesse Lange, head winemaker of Lange Estate. In this interview, Jesse shares about his experience growing up around wine and how he paved his own path in the industry. Jesse talks about finding his own passion for wine and how it first centered around agriculture and the vines. He shares about his time attending OSU and a sister university in New Zealand. He then goes on to...

This interview is with Ursula McCabe. In this interview, Ursula talks about the early Portland wine scene and her role as a trailblazing wine saleswoman. Ursula shares how she got into wine through restaurants and talks about the burgeoning Portland wine and restaurant scene of the seventies. Ursula also dives into the adaptation of these industries and their consumers over the years. She then goe...

This interview is with Sam Ecenia of Antiquum Farm. In this interview, Sam speaks about his early work in wine, which took him to California, Oregon, and New Zealand. He then talks about finding his way to Littorai Wines in California and the transformative educational experience he had working for Ted Lemon there. He discusses his evolving winemaking philosophy and his efforts in organic and biod...

This interview is with Cassandra Beldowicz of Corcilla Cellars. In this interview, Cassandra shares her journey to becoming a winemaker and owning and creating Corcilla Cellars. Cassandra talks about growing up in Washington, and how she found her way to the East Coast during her first career. She shares about being a nurse for about twelve years and how she found a passion for wine when she was t...

This interview is with Dean Sandifer of Domaine Coteau. In this interview, Dean speaks about being bitten by the wine bug while living and working in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. He talks about his early home winemaking and co-owning a wine shop while living there, in addition to some of the aeronautical computer work he was doing for the US Navy. He then discusses how he came to Oregon and looke...

This interview is with Pilar Oun. In this interview, Pilar talks about her family's business, Lemma Wines, and her transition from working in the wine industry to becoming a consumer.  Pilar shares about being raised around wine. She talks about how her parents were involved in the industry and how that influenced her career path. She goes on to talk about her upward movement within Lemma Wines, a...