The Oregon Wine History Archive Podcast

This interview is with Becky Wasserman-Hone, owner of Becky Wasserman & Co. She begins the interview with her families decision to move to Burgundy, France. She describes her early interest in French food and culture, which then led to her passion for wine. Becky went on to sell French oak barrels to Californians. After this start in the wine business, she made her way into wine sales where sh...

This interview is with Evan Bellingar of Bellingar Estates and Results Partners. In this interview, Evan speaks about knowing he wanted to work in the world of wine before the had ever tried it. He discusses taking horticulture and viticulture courses at Oregon State and how his knowledge of the industry grew. Evan describes the nature of the Oregon Wine industry, noting how many diverse people, r...

This interview is with Kim Bellingar of Bellingar Estates. In this interview, Kim discusses the nature of the Oregon Wine Industry, noting the sense of community that is present in Oregon. She describes her work at Adelsheim Vineyard and how that experience is helping her with Bellingar Estates. Kim goes on to predict what the future of the Oregon Wine industry will look like. She says that there...

This interview is with Jose Lopez of Results Partners. In this interview, Jose talks about his experience in the Oregon Wine Industry, including his first impressions of Oregon and what his first jobs in the vineyards were like. He speaks about his jobs before Results Partners and how he learned about viticulture. He took viticulture courses, went from working general labor to servicing equipment...

This interview is with Julia Cresto of Little Hellion Wines. In this interview, Julia starts off by saying she wanted to find a job that would be her passion, and she found that in wine. She goes on to describe her time at Oregon State and the many places she’s travelled which gave her the experience she needed to land a permanent position at Ponzi Vineyards. She takes us to Italy, California, and...

This interview is with LM Archer, a journalist specializing in wine. In this interview, she speaks about jobs she’s had as a writer and how her passion for writing began at a young age. She talks about why she decided to write about wine, what the process of telling those stories is, and what it is like working for different publications. She also discusses her favorite stories, places, and topics...

This interview is with Jesse Skiles, owner of his wine brand Fausse Piste. He begins the interview with discussing how his passion for food led to a career in the wine industry. Jesse shares how he started in culinary school and began working in restaurants after graduation. He fell into wine after working for a winery as a harvest chef, but ended up discovering the appeal of winemaking. Later in...

This interview is with Channing Frye, Jacob Gray, and Chase Renton, partners in Chosen Family wines. Chase described initially learning how to make wine in Italy, and following his studies with working harvests in California, Burgundy, and Oregon. He shares the process of choosing land in the Willamette valley and his support from his family to build the L’Angolo Estate tasting room and winery. Ch...

This interview is with Scott Nelson of Résolu Cellars. In this interview he begins with describing how he began with home winemaking as a hobby, and his hobby later evolving into a business. Scott makes wine with his son Cameron at their urban winery at Scott’s home in Beaverton. Later in the interview, he explains his decision to work with many different varieties, including some bolder reds. He...

This interview is with Ginny Adelsheim of Adelsheim Vineyard. In this interview, Ginny speaks about her journey of buying land in the Willamette Valley, building a house, and starting a vineyard. She discusses why they began making wine and what their business was like through the years. She shares photos of the vineyard, the winetasting room, and the people who operated it. She also describes des...

This interview is with Stacey Gibson and Neil Thompson of Park Avenue Fine Wines. They each share what initially interested them in wine, and how they got their start in the industry. Stacey and Neil describe their perspective decisions to move to Oregon, and what each of them did once they got here. Stacey explains how she was educated through Somelier certifications, while Neil gained his knowle...

This interview is with Earl Cramer Brown, owner of Vertical Wine and Beer. He begins the interview with his philosophy of selling wine, and what challenges and successes he has had over the years. Later, he discusses how the market has changed and how selling wine has changed over time. Earl describes starting his wholesale company, Vertical Wine & Beer, and the specific decisions he has made...

This interview is with Amy Prosenjak of A to Z Wineworks and the Linfield Board of Trustees. In this interview, Amy begins by describing how she got started in the wine industry, what her role is at A to Z Wineworks, and how she has contributed to Linfield programs. She discusses Linfield’s growth in the Wine discipline; beginning with a summer program, progressing to a minor, and then finally a m...

This interview is with Chad Vargas of NewGen Vineyard Services. In this interview, Chad talks about how he began working in the wine industry where he went from working at Adelsheim Vineyard to becoming an entrepreneur and starting his business NewGen. He goes on to discuss the technology being developed for the wine industry, and how these new tools may or may not solve problems in the vineyard....

This interview is with Eric Hamacher of Hamacher Wines . In this interview, He begins the interview by describing why he came to Oregon and how he became invested in the Oregon Wine industry. Later on he discusses the influence that 2020 had on the industry, including the impact of COVID-19 and the Oregon fires. Eric speaks about the loss of his 2020 harvest due to the wildfire smoke, but also how...

This interview is with Brent Braun, Sommelier and wine director at Castagna. He begins the interview with describing his wine interest being sparked after studying history in college where he drank “two buck chuck” and decided to learn more about wine in general. Brent came to Oregon from Santa Cruz because of music, and found himself being drawn to the wine industry. He describes the process of b...

This interview is with Ewald Moseler. In this interview, Ewald describes his upbringing in the Mosel region of Germany, and his early impressions of vineyards and wine. He goes on to explain how he found himself with a career in the German army, and how wine found its way back into his life again. After his time in the army, Ewald found himself hitchhiking up and down the US west coast when the wi...

This interview is with Carrie Wynkoop of Cellar 503. In this interview, Carrie talks about her love of wine and everything Oregon, and how she merged the two to begin a business when she realized she wanted to be able to buy Oregon wines online. Carrie wanted to help people know about the small wineries in Oregon and understand that wine in Oregon can be affordable and approachable. She describes...

This interview is with Sam and Katy Decker of Wine + Peace. In this interview, the couple speak about their introduction to the world of wine and how their vision of Wine + Peace came to be. They talk about their journey here, starting from their Asian-Fusion restaurant in Mexico to their move to Montreal to opening Wine + Peace. They discuss their hopes for the future of their business where they...

This interview is with Kathleen Willcox, wine writer. In this interview Kathleen describes growing up in Germany and tells of her interest in wine and journalism blossoming over the years. She describes starting out writing for her local newspaper, moving to New York, and later working as a freelance writer. Kathleen speaks about what drew her to wine and journalism and how it continues to interes...

This interview is with Rob and Beth Crittenden of Roanoke Valley Wine Company. In this interview, the couple speak about how they became wine distributers, what it was like representing Pacific Northwest wines, and why Oregon Wine has been so successful. They discuss the collaborative and supportive nature of the Oregon Wine community and go on to predict what the future of Oregon Wine will look l...

This interview is with Brendan Stater-West in the Loire Valley in Central France. In this interview, he talks about moving to France and entering the French wine industry, the differences between the French and American practices, and the his experience in France so far. He goes on to discuss what makes a good wine, his philosophy on wine, and his vision behind his label. Brendan describes the imp...

This interview is with Alex Clark. Alex grew up in a “chemistry family” where he went on to begin his professional life in a lab building molecules. While he was working in this lab, he started writing stand up sets— this led him to move to New York to pursue his career as a comedian. While in New York he was first exposed to wine while working in restaurants. Alex describes the roundabout way he...

This interview is with Miguel Garcia, Manuel Mederle and Trevor Gorham of Vino Veritas wine shop in Portland. The trio come from three very different backgrounds, and discuss how they became interested in wine, food, and hospitality before eventually meeting each other in Portland. Manuel grew up in northern Italy and got into hospitality at an early age before transitioning toward wine and moving...

This Interview is with Rex Pickett, author of “Sideways”. In this interview, Rex starts with his upbringing and walks us through the ups and downs of his personal and professional life leading up to writing “Sideways”. He follows up with the process of getting the movie produced. He describes his formative time at UC-San Diego and his work with the university for his upcoming novel, “The Archivist...