The Oregon Wine History Archive Podcast

This interview is with Cheryl Longshore of Serendipity Cellars. In this interview, Cheryl dives into the story of Serendipity Cellars, the brand created by her and her late husband Glen.  Cheryl shares everything from living in Alaska to getting sweet-talked into volunteering for a harvest at Amity Vineyards. She dives into the stories behind Serendipity Cellars, from customers asking for 1920's p...

This interview is with Toni Ketrenos of Linfield University. In this interview, Toni speaks about attending Linfield as an undergraduate and going on into a career in journalism. Her interest in wine led her eventually into wine sales and distribution, and then into wine education. Toni also speaks about what brought her back to Linfield to teach wine and where the Linfield wine program is headed,...

This interview is with Jess Spera of Chehalem Winery. In this interview, Jess speaks about her past jobs, travels, and experiences that led her to Chehalem.  Jess starts by talking about her time in Colorado and found love for beer brewing. She shares how her love for brewing evolved into a love for wine, especially after her time spent doing wine harvests abroad.  She then dives into her life onc...

This interview is with Wynne Peterson-Nedry of RR Wines. In this interview, Wynne speaks about the influence of growing up around wine.  Wynne shares her past jobs which range from being in a pharmaceutical lab to learning, researching, and trapping fruit flies. She also dives into her drive to travel and expand her palate.  Wynne talks about her work on producing her own wines and label. She even...

This interview is with Ron Benza of Benza Vineyards. In this interview, Ron speaks about his time in New York, France, and now the Willamette Valley.  Ron speaks on his many careers from advertising in France to teaching executive leadership, all while trying to find where his passion for wine fit. An opportunity finally arose to come to Oregon where Ron found the perfect spot to start Benza Viney...

This interview is with Elizabeth Tomasino of Oregon State University. In this interview, Elizabeth speaks about growing up with a love of puzzles and science. She found her passion for wine through her travels and eventually started working with the Oregon wine industry through her position at Oregon State.  Elizabeth talks about working with everything from smoke, stink bugs, and green vegetables...

This interview is with Chris Lake of Stoller Wine Group. In this interview, Chris speaks about his past in the wine industry and his time as an educator at the Southern Oregon Wine Institute (SOWI) at Umpqua Community College.  Chris has spent much of his career working in vineyards and speaks about vineyard science and the various places he's overseen, and what brought him to Stoller. He also tal...

This interview is with Roberta Manell Montero of Bouchard Cooperages. In this interview, Roberta speaks about being immersed in the world of wine during a post-college trip to Germany, and following that dream to California, where her wine industry journey began. From there, Roberta talks about beginning work with Bouchard, finding kindred spirits in Oregon via the Steamboat Conference, and eventu...

This interview is with John Thomas of Thomas Wines. In this interview, John speaks about his early career working on the Alaska Pipeline as a geologist and starting to gain an interest in wine through his colleagues. As his interest grew, he took a trip down the West coast, stopping at vineyards and talking with winemakers. A visit with Gary Burnap in the Santa Cruz mountains left John invigorated...

This interview is with Damien Lapuyade of Evening Land Vineyards. In this interview, Damien speaks about growing up in the Napa Valley with wine in the background, but only learning to appreciate wine once he got older. He talks about his initial wine experiences in Oregon and Australia, and his desire to further his education at UC Davis. Later, Damien talks about coming to the north Willamette V...

This interview is with Heather Perkin of Elk Cove Vineyards and Pike Road. In this interview, Heather speaks about growing up in Australia and her early education in wine. After finishing school, she found an internship at Elk Cove with the intention of boosting her résumé to work in New Zealand or Australia. Instead, she worked her way from intern to assistant winemaker to recently being named he...

This interview is with Efren Loeza of Willamette Valley Vineyards. In this interview, Efren speaks about growing up working in agriculture in Mexico before coming to the United States. He was immediately intrigued by working in vineyards, and asked enough questions to show his interest and start to learn the trade. When a full-time role came up at Tualatin Estate in 1980, he took it and has never...

This interview is with Dana Benn and Nicole Staples of Coquina Wines. In this interview, Dana and Nicole speak about their initial experiences in the wine industry and about each developing a passion for the physical, demanding labor of making wine. They talk about the various places they worked before meeting and becoming friends, and about their adventures together since. They also talk about th...

This interview is with Nate Wall of Troon Wines. In this interview, Nate speaks about discovering an interest in microbes and an interest in wine, but taking a while to find the connection between the two. He talks about getting his start working in the Virginia wine industry before coming to Oregon, and the various places he worked. Once in Oregon, he takes us through the path to coming to Troon,...

This interview is with Helmut and Andreas Wetzel, of Chateau Bianca Winery.  Wine has had a place in the Wetzel’s family history for four generations, starting in Northern Bavaria. After selling off a distributorship, they bought their current property in Dallas, Oregon, in 1990 and built Chateau Bianca Winery.  In the interview, the Wetzels discuss what it was like in the early days of the Oregon...

This interview is with Katie Santora, winemaker at Chehalem Winery. In this interview, Katie discusses how she got into the wine industry after her dad’s friend suggested she study winemaking. She talks about the program she entered at UC Davis, the education she received, and how she ended up in Oregon working at various other wineries before ending up at Chehalem. Katie speaks about her travels...

This interview is with Veronique Boss-Drouhin of Domaine Drouhin Oregon. In this interview, Veronique first discusses how she got into wine after originally wanting to be a pianist— born into a wine family in Burgundy France. She then goes on to discuss her education and how she ended up in Oregon. Further into the interview, Veronique talks about the people she worked with, the difficulties in ba...

This interview is with Doyle Hinman who has been a part of almost every aspect of the wine industry during his life time. In this interview he talks about his start in the wine business, international sales and the future of the Oregon wine industry. This interview was conducted on January 15th, 2016 at the Hinman home.

This interview is with Bruno Corneaux, owner of Domaine Divio. In this interview, Bruno discusses how he was born into the wine industry and explains his journey from working in the pharmaceutical industry for over ten years to travelling the world pursuing his passion of wine. Bruno also discusses the adversity faced during his time in Tahiti, as well as his philosophy of seeing his farm as a liv...

This interview is with Paul Durant of Durant Vineyards. In this interview, Paul discusses his love for farming and how that has informed his career in wine after being a mechanical engineer. He talks about the learning curve when coming back— learning how to create a sustainable business, having the right team in place, and his vision for a diverse, multi-ethnic customer base. He then goes on to d...

This interview is with Ken and Penny Durant of Durant Vineyards. In this interview, the couple discuss how they started as home winemakers just for fun, then decided to transition fully into the wine industry. They speak of the challenges and successes that came with their business, as well as how they uniquely decided to make and sell olive oil alongside their grapes and wines. Towards the end of...

This interview is with Grace Evenstad, owner of Domaine Serene. In this interview, Grace discusses how she and her husband came into the wine industry and fell in love, learning as much as they could. The couple loved pinot noir and knew they wanted to make it. Grace tells how they ended up in Oregon, as well as the complex yet balanced style of their wine. To end, Grace explains her relationship...

This interview is with Joe Dobbes, the owner of Wine by Joe and Dobbes Family Estate. In this interview, he talks about the start of both of the labels, making wine in the Willamette Valley and the Oregon wine industry as a whole. Dobbes wraps up the interview to talk about the future of Oregon wine. This interview took place on April 11, 2017 by Rich Schmidt at the Austin Reading Room in Nicolson...

This interview is with Scott and Lisa Neal, owners of Coeur de Terre Vineyard. In this interview, the couple discuss how they found themselves in the wine industry in Oregon and how they acquired the land with the help of such a giving community. They then talk about what it means to be “second generation” and how grateful they are to be a part of this community. Lisa describes the difficulties in...

This interview is with Jimmy Leyden, owner of Courting Hill Vineyard. In this interview, conducted on Jimmy’s 97th birthday, he discusses how he found himself in the wine industry in Oregon. Jimmy discusses how he aquired the land for his vineyard, as well as the wide array of occupations he held: from a musician to jingle maker, to selling Christmas trees, and finally transitioning to growing gap...