Interview
This interview is with Laurent Montalieu of Soléna Estate. In this interview, Laurent discusses his journey in creating a multi-generational legacy within the Oregon wine industry.
Laurent talks about his beginnings in wine. He started out studying engineering in France until he switched to the neighboring Bourdeaux’s Institute of Oenology because it looked like they were having more fun over there. While studying, Laurent did many internships. One took him to Napa Valley which gave him an appreciation for American business management. Freshly graduated, Laurent got a call from Bridgeview Winery to work with them and finally made his way to Oregon.
Laurent discusses creating NW Wine Company and its progression throughout the years. The property started as an old pie factory and was originally used to make his own wine. It turned out that people wanted Laurent to make wine for their brands as well. From there, Laurent was the winemaker for many different brands and NW Wine Company was born in 2003. After a creating a successful business with high demand, Laurent sold the company in 2021.
Later in the interview, Laurent talks about his current focus, Soléna Estate. Purchasing the property in 1999 and planting vineyards as well as living on it, Soléna Estate was overshadowed by the beast of NW Wine Company in Laurent’s mind. Now, Soléna Estate is Laurent’s main focus as he nurtures the vineyard and his daughter Soléna to become the next leader of the estate.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Soléna Estate in Yamhill on July 15, 2026.
Interview
This interview is with Soléna Andrus Montalieu of Soléna Estate and her mother Danielle Andrus. In this interview, the duo discusses being raised in the industry and the memories that come with it.
Danielle talks about growing up in Napa Valley with her father Gary Andrus of Pine Ridge Vineyards and eventually moving with him to Oregon to start Archery Summit in 1995. After doing a lot of the grunt work, Danielle was asked to create a hospitality department for the winery until she got married and created Northwest Wine Company and Soléna Estate with her husband at the time, winemaker Laurent Montalieu. After they went their separate ways, they left the estate in Soléna’s name.
Soléna discusses how she grew up in the wine industry. While she planned on staying away from the industry, studying psychology and entrepreneurship at Lewis & Clark College, she fell in love with the industry when she came back to pursue a wine internship. Now, Soléna runs the estate and puts an emphasis on the social media and marketing of the brand. She further discusses her big plans for the future of Soléna Estate.
Later in the interview, Danielle talks about the personality and impact of her father within the industry. She explains how he was all bout the community. The mother and daughter agree that they’ve found this community for themselves and have never regretted joining the industry they were raised in.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Soléna Estate on June 10, 2026.