Interview
This interview is with Jackson Grom of Abbott Claim. In this interview, Jackson speaks about his decision to attend UC Davis and focus on wine, the research he did there, and how it started his career.
He then talks about his move to Oregon and his work for Results Partners, Lingua Franca, and a couple organic farms. He describes how much he learned about farming and viticulture, and about the skills he needed to develop quickly.
Later, he talks about joining Abbott Claim in 2025, how the work has gone so far, and what comes next. He also talks about how he evaluates a vineyard, and the work that goes into keep on top of the annual vineyard cycle.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Abbott Claim in Carlton on January 20, 2026.
Interview
This interview is with Manuel Recio of Abbott Claim. In this interview, Manuel talks about the different decades of his life and the 3 main paths he has taken so far.
Manuel talks about spending his 20s working in advertising and marketing, working for companies in Florida and later Oregon after moving there with his wife Leslie. They met while studying abroad in Spain, and Leslie was attending Linfield at the time.
Next, in his 30s, Manuel and Leslie lived in Grand Island and owned Veridian Farms. Manuel shared about taking boxes of produce and marketing materials to restaurants in Portland to encourage chefs to buy ingredients directly from their farm.
Manuel also discusses focusing on specialty foods and wine in his 40s. He started by becoming one of the few master carvers of Jamón Ibérico in the United States, and continued on to receive his Level 3 WSET certification and study winemaking at UC Davis. He worked at several different wineries during that time, including Domaine Drouhin, Cristom, Domaine Serene, and Abbott Claim.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Linfield University’s Nicholson Library on November 20, 2025.
Interview
This interview is with Kristen Marchesi of Beck Family Estates. In this interview, Kristin talks about growing up around wine and eventually entering the industry herself. She goes over some over her original interests, including theater and the culinary world, and explains how she began working for her dad, who was running a winery. She describes what it was like working as the daughter of the company’s owner and the challenges that came with that. She speaks about learning the sales ropes and figuring out how to sell biodynamic wine.
Kristin talks about the nature of marketing biodynamic wine and customer response to it. She also discusses what it was like when her dad sold the winery and what she found herself doing after that. Later, she speaks about her work at Beck Family Estates and how being at home during quarantine affected her work.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Abbott Claim Winery in Carlton on April 28, 2021.
Interview
This interview is with Heath Payne of Abbott Claim. In this interview, he describes becoming interested in the wine industry after working at a vineyard with concord grapes in Arizona, and deciding to move to Oregon and take classes at Chemeketa Community College. After working a harvest in France for some time and falling in love with the rhythm of life there, he tells of his increasing interest in Pinot Noir. Later, he describes meeting Alban Debeaulieu at Abbott Claim, where he liked the culture and the people, and found his place in the vineyards. Heath speaks in depth about his passion for biodynamics and sustainability with grape growing. Towards the end of the interview, he describes his winemaking philosophies, and talks about the various varieties he makes wine with, and discusses the rich community he surrounds himself with. To conclude, Heath gives his thoughts for the future, and gives his words of wisdom for those that would like to join the Oregon wine industry.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Abbott Claim on September 3, 2020.
Interview
This interview is with Alban Debeaulieu of Abbott Claim/Angela Vineyards. In this interview, Alban speaks about how he got into the wine industry, where he was before coming to Oregon, how growing up in France influenced his wine, and why he chose to come to America. He goes on to speak about his various work experience, his wine making philosophy, what wines he makes, and what it was like founding Abbott Claim. Towards the end, Alban describes the differences between Oregon wine and French wine, how he’s dealing with the pandemic, and what he sees for the future.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Abbott Claim in Carlton on July 9, 2020.