The Oregon Wine History Archive Podcast

This interview is with Jillian Barnhart of Lux Nova Creative. In this interview, Jillian shares her many experiences as a photographer, marketer, and the many hobbies she has collected along the way. She believes these experiences give her a unique set of skills that benefit her clients. Jillian talks about how she began in photography by moving to Los Angeles to work in the music industry and fel...

This interview is with Avery Hadley of Gala Creative Agency. In this interview, Avery talks about his young company and what it aims to do for hospitality-based clients. Avery talks about after graduating from Oregon State University, he sent out 380 applications in search for a job. Originally from Salem, Avery knew some local businesses that he was able to photograph for and eventually manage th...

This interview is with Diego Valeri of Conur Wines. In this interview, Diego talks about his journey of becoming a professional soccer player with the Portland Timbers and eventually creating his own wine company. Diego talks about how creating a wine company was not actually his idea, but his wife, Florencia’s scheme. However, Diego planned to wait until he retired to begin the endeavor. After ni...

This interview is with Jim Maresh of Arterberry Maresh. In this interview, Jim talks about growing up on the family farm, becoming interested in wine, and starting his own wine label. Jim talks about his family’s history in Dundee. His grandparents Jim and Loie purchased the property on Worden Hill Road in 1959 and began planting many different crops. Jim’s dad, Fred Arterberry, met his mom, Marth...

This interview is with Emily Rozga of Soter Vineyards. Emily is originally from Santa Rosa, California, and talks about growing up around food, agriculture, and the outdoors. She shares how those early interests led her to attend Cal Poly with the focus on wine and viticulture, initially believing winemaking would be her future. Through internships, harvest experiences, and working in tasting room...

This interview is with Wayne Oppenheimer of A Great Oregon Wine Tour and WineUp. Wayne is originally from Seattle, Washington, and was raised in Beaverton, Oregon. He talks about first becoming interested in wine in his early twenties after attending a tasting and realizing how different wines could be from one another. The curiosity led him to dive deeper into what he describes as “liquid geograp...

This interview is with Jay Pscheidt of Oregon State University. In this interview, Jay talks about how he came to be in Oregon, transitioning from studying potatoes to all kinds of woody perennials. Jay talks about his journey from pre-med to bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin. After attending a lecture by a plant pathologist, he realized he could apply all his newfound knowledge for the...

This interview is with Anna Jesse of Forest Hills Farms, a third-generation farmer helping lead a family operation that has grown from strawberry fields in the 1950s into thousands of acres producing blueberries, wine grapes, corn, and other crops across Oregon.  Anna is from Cornelius, Oregon, and talks about growing up in Forest Hills Farms, spending years working in vineyards and agriculture, a...

This interview is with Davis Palmer of McMenamins Edgefield Winery. In this interview, Davis talks about his early fascination with fermentation leading him to working at McMenamins in beer production. Working in a variety of brewpubs within the company allowed him to work on honing the house style while also experimenting with new fun recipes. He talks about being intrigued by winemaking and view...

This interview is with Morgan White of Amaterra. In this interview, Morgan talks about her career in the wine industry, from moving to Oregon without having a harvest job lined up to becoming the winemaker at Amaterra. Morgan shares about going to the University of Florida for physiology & kinesiology with plans of becoming a physical therapist. After graduation, she and a friend visited Mendo...

This interview is with John Platt of Helvetia Winery. In this interview, John talks about moving off a houseboat to Helvetia, planting grapes, and expanding his business into a winery. John shares about moving to the Helvetia area after a piece of land came up for sale and meeting with an extension agent to determine what kinds of crops he should plant. Among the list was grapes, which John and hi...

This interview is with Kevin Pogue, of VinTerra. Kevin is a geologist, educator, and wine industry consultant whose career has taken him from the caves and mountains of Kentucky to studying tectonics in Pakistan, teaching geology for decades, and eventually becoming deeply involved in viticulture and wine regions across the country.  Kevin is originally from the Bluegrass region of Lexington, Kent...

This interview is with Tim and Kathy O’Leary of Long Walk Vineyard. Tim is originally from Palo Alto, California, and Kathy is from Sacramento, California. Although their careers began far from the wine industry, both eventually found themselves building a life centered around farming, community, and wine. Kathy talks about attending Stanford, where she met her husband, Tim; switching to an engine...

This interview is with Joe Ferris of Lingua Franca in Salem, Oregon. In this interview, Joe shares his background and how he found his way into the world of winemaking through travel, science, and hands-on experience.  Joe grew up in Wisconsin and attended UW Madison, where he studied biomedical engineering. His interest in wine first started casually, but after traveling through South America wit...

This interview is with Scott Kelley of Paul O’Brien Winery. In this interview, Scott talks about starting to work in the wine industry as a teenager, his experience with big, corporate wineries, and starting his own project in Oregon.  Scott shares about beginning to work in the industry at 17 years old cleaning mobile grape presses. When his boss learned about his affinity for chemistry, he start...

This interview is with Charlie Becker of Becker Vineyard in Roseburg. In this interview, Charlie shares his background and how he got started in winemaking. Charlie grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and made his first wine at just 10 years old out of store bought grape juice and yeast. He later studied biology in college and eventually moved to Seattle, where he worked as a painter for many years. After...

This interview is with Rob Ikola of Whitetail Ridge. In this interview, Rob shares his background, career path, and how he became involved in the wine industry. Rob was born in Portland and grew up moving all around Oregon, including time in Bend and Roseburg. He attended Umpqua Community College, where he earned a business degree. Before entering the wine industry, he spent many years working in...

This interview is with Bryan and Pam Freed of Freed Estate. In this interview, Pam talks about growing up in Honolulu and working as a flight attendant. She talks about meeting her husband Mike and his desire to be a farmer. Later, she talks about finding land in Roseburg and starting Freed Estate. Bryan talks about growing up watching his father Mike farm, and eventually deciding he wanted to fol...

This interview is with Andrew Wenzl of Abacela Winery. In this interview, Andrew talks about his journey from biology and chemistry for veterinary school to applying those principles to winemaking. Andrew shares about his family’s history in present-day Austria growing lesser known varietals, making wine, and running bed and breakfast-type inns. With that history of winemaking and hospitality, it...

This interview is with Denise and Bryan White of Troon Vineyards in Grants Pass. In this interview they share their journey into winemaking, their professional backgrounds, and how they built their vineyard and business together. Both Denise and Bryan originally came from medical backgrounds. Bryan worked in internal medicine and is board certified in hospice and palliative care, while Denise atte...

This interview is with Andy Myer of Goldback & Trivia Wine Room. In this interview, Andy talks about his path into winemaking, starting with studying philosophy in Pennsylvania before transferring to Willamette University to study environmental science. He shares how a summer job at Cristom sparked his interest, describing his first experience in a vineyard as a “lightning catalyst” that got h...

This interview is with Rachael Martin of Red Lily Vineyards. In this interview, Rachael talks about growing up in the Rogue Valley before leaving to pursue a career in law. After deciding that wasn't her path and returning to the Rogue Valley with a desire to own some land and grow something, her dad's suggestion to try wine grapes launched her into a new career. She talks about her time honing he...

This interview is with Nichole Schulte of Quady North/Barrel 42. In this interview, Nichole talks about her background studying law and working in insurance, and her current journey working in wine. Nichole talks about growing up in Florida and starting to work in insurance. After managing a call center, she became an adjuster, following storms across the country to help those affected settle insu...

This interview is with Herb Quady of Quady North and Barrel 42. In this interview, Herb talks about his family starting a wine brand in California the same year he was born, and thus growing up in the industry. Despite initially not wanting to work in wine, he soon found himself working for Randall Grahm at Bonny Doon and launching his wine career. Later, Herb talks about coming to Southern Oregon...

This interview is with Sara Garr of Circadian Cellars. In this interview, Sara talks about growing up as a creative individual and finally finding her preferred medium in wine. Sara talks about first entering the wine industry from a sales point of view, working at the Harry & David bottle shop in Medford. Though initially she didn’t know much about fine wine, she worked with the wine buyer an...