INTERVIEWER
Schmidt, Rich
DURATION
1 hour 19 minutes 58 seconds
DATE
September 16, 2026
INTERVIEW SUMMARY
This interview is with Hopper Canty of Negociant PDX in Portland, Oregon. In this interview, Hopper discusses his journey from music to the wine industry.
Hopper discusses growing up in San Diego, having a very outdoorsy childhood and originally had more interest in music than wine. After moving to Portland at 18, he attended PCC’s music production program and later began playing music all around Portland. A trip to Europe after graduating opened his eyes to the stories, history, and artistry behind wine, and he quickly developed a much bigger interest in the industry.
While working at New Seasons during the pandemic, Hopper eventually found his way to Negociant PDX. He spent years learning about wine through books, studying maps and French wine, and attending weekly tastings with distributors. Over time, he worked his way up and gained more freedom to explore the wines he was excited about, from natural wines to traditional Burgundies.
Today, Hopper helps shape Negociant’s neighborhood wine café atmosphere through programs like their glass pour selection, Wine Wednesday, and small wine club tastings. Outside of wine, he continues to play music in dive bars around downtown Portland and plans to release music with his band soon. Hopper hopes to continue growing Negociant, expand its wine education and events, and possibly even start a Youtube channel one day.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Negociant PDX in Portland, Oregon on September 16, 2026.
Interview photos
COMMENTS
Some oral history interviews are conducted on site and may contain background noise from nature, winery, or tasting room operations.