Interview
This interview is with Scott Sabbadini of Bjornson Vineyard. In this interview, Scott discusses his experiences within the wine industry and achieving his dream of working in the Willamette Valley.
Scott talks about growing up in an Italian family who visited Italy multiple times throughout his childhood. Wine had always been on the table and he always associated it with connection. When it was time to go off to college, Scott followed in his parents’ footsteps and went to UC Davis. Scott’s father had suggested he take a few winemaking courses and eventually, Scott declared winemaking as his major. After spending a year abroad in Italy and finishing school, Scott jumped right into the industry.
Scott discusses his various jobs within and adjacent to the industry. Scott’s first real harvest in the industry was in 2006 as an assistant winemaker in a two-person operation. Here, Scott gained a lot of experience within a short amount of time. Scott experienced the opposite scale of production when he did a harvest in New Zealand. Scott believes most people in the industry should experience working in such a large scale because those skills are incredibly transferrable. After working various assistant winemaking jobs, Scott knew he wanted to take the next step. Although before that next step, Scott brewed beer for a year instead. When he decided brewing wasn’t for him, he went back to wine and is now the head winemaker for Bjornson.
Later in the interview, Scott talks about his role at Bjorson and his view on the Oregon wine industry. Scott started at Bjornson in July of 2019 when he was able to prove himself as a quality winemaker before the smoke of 2020. From there, Scott has been experimenting with different varietals and even started a custom crush program at Bjornson on top of starting his own consulting business. As for the industry, Scott is excited about the overlap of institutional knowledge and young ambition within Oregon wine. Scott is having fun on this wave of expansion and experimentation.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Linfield University in McMinnville on August 10, 2026.
Interview
This interview is with Bryan Lewis of Björnson Vineyard. In this interview, Bryan discusses how he has obtained his dream job.
Bryan talks about the how he started out as a pastor, went into video production, sales management for 14 years, and eventually wine retail while making his own beverages from wine kits on the side. After being in retail for so long, Bryan started working as a steward for Market of Choice. When he felt he didn’t know what he was talking about, he decided to complete his WSET level 3 and is currently working on his level 4. When he realized he loved teaching people about wine, he started a wine education-focused Instagram page.
Bryan discusses the beginnings of his account and its goal. Initially, Bryan wanted to teach wine beginners about wine in a fun, approachable way. Eventually, even more people outside of his target demographic started consuming and sharing his content. Bryan produces videos and graphics that make learning about wine easy and enjoyable. When Björnson asked Bryan to create a video, he also applied as their hospitality manager and began working there in July of 2025. Now, Bryan has taken his social media presence to the press and has two published books with the same fun approach.
Later in the interview, Bryan talks about the future for himself and the Oregon wine industry. Bryan believes that Oregon is going to become more renowned around the world for wine. With this progression, Bryan hopes the industry doesn’t loose who they are along the way. As for himself, there is nothing bigger and better than Björnson for him. He is right where he wants to be and plans to grow Björnson along with his individual side projects.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Björnson Vineyard in Salem on July 14, 2026.
Interview
This interview is with Mark and Pattie Bjornson of Bjornson Vineyard. In this interview, Mark and Pattie speak about their growing interest in wine and their desire to start a vineyard in Oregon. They talk about finding the property and planting it, and adding more vines, a winery, and a tasting room over the years. Mark speaks about vineyard practices and Pattie discusses her winemaking and growing the hospitality program.
In the second part of the interview, Mark takes us to the Pamar Vineyard where he has planted Gouais Blanc. He discusses the history of the now-rare grape, why/how he planted it, and what the plans are for it.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt on July 16, 2024 at Bjornson Vineyard in Salem and Pamar Vineyard in Perrydale.