Interview
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
This interview is with Sami Gaston of Bar Diane and Négociant wine shop. At the start, Sami goes over her time before wine as an artist studying studio art, apparel design, and fashion forecasting. She also mentions her eagerness to travel, which inspired her to earn a degree in Spanish literature.
The daughter of a bartender and cocktail waitress, Sami describes how she found herself soon drawn to a similar scene. She talks about trying out different jobs, hospitality, and eventually discovering Oregon wine. She goes on to speak about her own business, their clientele, and how it has already expanded and evolved.
Throughout, Sami speaks about the communal, collaborative nature of wine. For her, wine is better with other people and her work centers around introducing people to what the Oregon wine world offers.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Bar Diane in NW Portland on June 7th, 2022.