Interview
This interview is with Evan Rose, a winemaker at Stoller Family Estate. In this interview, Evan talks about his early love for wine and how his passion paved his career path.
Evan shares about his childhood and growing up in Ohio. He dives into how he stumbled upon wine at the ripe young age of fifteen and has never looked back. He goes on to talk about his first wine job as a kid and how his wine passion was ignited.
Later in the interview, Evan shares about some of his mentors and most memorable moments related to his path in wine. He also talks about finding Stoller and his recent promotion.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt on July 9, 2024 at Stoller Family Estate in Dayton.
Interview
This interview is with DJ Cook of Stoller Wine Group. In this interview, DJ speaks about growing up with a passion for plants and learning horticulture and botany. A chance to work with grapevines sparked his interest and he talks about how he pursued viticulture in California and New Zealand.
A desire to come back to Oregon brought him first to Archery Summit and then to Stoller. He speaks about learning the sites, and his role as a viticulturist.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt on July 9, 2024 at Stoller in Dayton.
Interview
This interview is with K’Sondra Fredrickson of Stoller Wine Group. In this interview, K’Sondra speaks about finding an enthusiasm for wine while working in a tasting room, and then a passion once she started to work in production.
From there she talks about working at various places in California and New Zealand, including work in a research winery. She discusses how she had desired to come back to Oregon, and how she found her way to Stoller in 2023. In addition, she talks about her love of Chardonnay and about what comes next for her and for Oregon.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt on July 9, 2024 at Stoller in Dayton.
Interview
This interview is with Amira Makansi of Stoller Wine Group. In this interview, Amira speaks about discovering wine and getting excited initially about wine production. She talks about her first wine internship at Benton Lane Winery in 2010, and about discovering her love of the Willamette Valley
From there, she also talks about her parallel career as a successful author – first writing a trilogy with her mother and sister, and later solo. She discusses her writing process and favorite parts of creating stories.
Then she talks about her pivot into the marketing side of the industry, and how she came to work at Stoller. She talks about what she’s done so far and what the future may hold.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt on June 14, 2024 at Stoller Vineyard in Dayton.
Interview
This interview is with Dave Rice of Chehalem Winery. In this interview, Dave speaks about his lifelong interest in wine and how it brought him to his current role.
Dave talks about his career in sales and how it prepared him to work in wine sales and hospitality. He speaks on his initial impressions of the Oregon wine industry and how he’s seen it grow and change. And he talks about how his role has grown and evolved, and what he does now.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at the Chehalem Winey tasting room in Newberg on August 14, 2023.
Interview
This interview is with Jess Spera of Chehalem Winery. In this interview, Jess speaks about her past jobs, travels, and experiences that led her to Chehalem.
Jess starts by talking about her time in Colorado and found love for beer brewing. She shares how her love for brewing evolved into a love for wine, especially after her time spent doing wine harvests abroad.
She then dives into her life once she returns to the states and shares the ways she found herself working towards a future. Whether it was sharing how she met her husband during harvest or how she advanced to being the winemaker’s second hand, Jess spills it all!
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Chehalem Winery in Newberg on June 8, 2023.
Interview
This interview is with Chris Lake of Stoller Wine Group. In this interview, Chris speaks about his past in the wine industry and his time as an educator at the Southern Oregon Wine Institute (SOWI) at Umpqua Community College.
Chris has spent much of his career working in vineyards and speaks about vineyard science and the various places he’s overseen, and what brought him to Stoller. He also talks about what he’s seen in Oregon wine and what might be coming next.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Stoller Family Winery in Dayton on May 31, 2023.
Interview
This interview is with Gary Mortensen of Stoller Wines. In this interview, Gary speaks about his wine journey, which started over thirty years ago when he began working at Sokol Blosser. However, Gary has worked in plenty of other industries since. He talks about his experience doing consulting, his involvement in tech start-ups, and his time working on screenplays and documentaries. He also discusses the Combat History Archive, Lucky Forward Films, and the Veteran’s Legacy Charity, all of which he founded. Gary tells us about his return to the wine industry in 2012 and what his experience has been like at Stoller. He shares his passion for storytelling, work philosophies, and speaks about the projects he is most proud of.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Stoller Winery in Dayton on July 15, 2022.
Interview
This interview is with Ben Howe of Stoller Wine Group. In this interview, Ben speaks about his history in the winemaking world. He talks about moving to Oregon from the Midwest and attending Oregon State University where he graduated with a Bachelors in Fermentation Science. He also describes his experience working in the California and Southern India Wine Industries. Later, Ben discusses he role as Vice President of Operations at Stoller and talks about some of his more recent projects.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Stoller Family Estate in Dayton on July 6, 2022.
Interview
This interview is with Karl Weichold of Stoller Wine Group. In this interview, Karl talks about his college experience in Texas, where he was introduced to the wine world while waiting tables at an Italian Restaurant. After working for a few wineries in Texas, he made his way to Oregon. Karl speaks about the differences between the Texas and Oregon wine industries and describes his time working at 12th and Maple Wine Co. and Erath Winery. Karl also talks about his current role at Stoller and shares his winemaking approach.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Stoller Family Estate in Dayton on July 6, 2022.
Interview
This interview is with Erica Miller of Stoller Family Estate. In this interview, Erica speaks about growing up surrounded by farming and agriculture, going to Oregon State University, and eventually making her way into the Oregon Wine Industry.
She talks about her style of growing grapes and how she manages a vineyard. She describes her role at Stoller, what it was like getting to know the property, and why it’s important to understand every nook and cranny. She goes on to discuss Stoller’s terroir and how she tries to let the vineyard show itself by listening to the vines and maintaining them in a sustainable way.
Later, she talks about being a woman in the industry, the research project on Trunk Disease she is working on, and what she sees for herself in the future.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Stoller in Dayton on April 6, 2021.
interview
This interview is with Jason Tosch. In this interview, Jason talks about how he got into wine growing and the various experiences he’s had growing up with Oregon wine and working in the industry. He goes on to speak about his favorite vintage, how he became introduced to LIVE, and some of the challenges that came with learning grape growing. Towards the end of the interview, Jason touches on his relationships with the viticulturist and vineyard manager, and what sustainability is to him.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Stoller Winery on March 5, 2020.
interview
This interview is with Kate Payne Brown. In this interview, Kate discusses how she got into the wine industry and to Oregon, as well as her various experiences she’s gained that has aided in giving her the knowledge that she has today. Kate then talks about the responsibilities she has as a winemaker, how she works with other people doing similar jobs, and how she is still able to showcase her own voice and style through her work and decisions. She also discusses her own label and the meaning behind it’s name, and speaks about what it’s like being a woman in the wine industry. Towards the end of the interview, Kate touches on changes she’s seen in the Oregon Wine Industry, what she sees in the future, and describes what the role of wine is in society.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Stoller Winery on March 5, 2020.
Interview
This interview is with Katie Santora, winemaker at Chehalem Winery. In this interview, Katie discusses how she got into the wine industry after her dad’s friend suggested she study winemaking. She talks about the program she entered at UC Davis, the education she received, and how she ended up in Oregon working at various other wineries before ending up at Chehalem. Katie speaks about her travels as well as the tremendous support she received from the industry that has kept her passionate about winemaking. Towards the end of the interview, Katie showcases her gratitude for the position she has as a woman in the wine industry, her wine making philosophy, advice for people looking to enter the wine industry, the future of Chehalem, as well as her own personal goals.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Chehalem Winery on March 15, 2019.
Interview
This interview is with Michelle Kaufmann, communications director for Stoller Family Estate. In this interview, Michelle discusses how her public relations background informed her role in the wine industry, as well as her various roles in the wine industry— serving on the Oregon Wine Board, being a major role on the IPNC team, and being on the marketing committee for the Willamette Valley Wineries Association. Michelle discusses the lessons, challenges, and successes that come with her job, as well as why she believes it is important to capture oral histories within the wine industry. She also explains the role technology plays in marketing, and the challenges she faces in addressing multiple audiences in the industry. Towards the end of the interview, Michelle speaks about her plans for the future, Stoller Family Estate, as well as the larger Oregon industry.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt on March 15th, 2019 at the Chehalem tasting room in Newberg, Oregon.
Interview
This interview is with Melissa Burr, director of winemaking at Stoller Family Estate. In this interview, Melissa discusses why how she came into the wine industry as she saw the industry emerging and fell in love with it. She also talks about how her science background informed her role in the wine industry: “having that core science was certainly helpful.” She also talks about how the various jobs she worked and how she was able to balance her demands of a new job and being a new mother. Melissa then goes on to speak about the challenges faced, yet the stories and memories captured within each bottle of wine that is special to her. She also offers her wine making philosophy, as well as what sustainability means to her and her job. Melissa provides a unique perspective of women in the wine industry, and talks about how there has been a significant increase in the presence of women. Towards the end, she offers insight to the future of the Oregon Wine Industry, as well as Stoller.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Stoller Family Estate on January 24th, 2019.
Interview
This interview is with Bill Stoller, the owner of Stoller Family Estate in the Dundee Hills AVA. Bill talks about starting a winery, the vineyard and what makes the site unique. He also discusses the future for Stoller Estate and the impact of having a liberal arts education.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Stoller Family Estate on July 10, 2017.
Interview
This interview is with Bill and Cathy Stoller, founders of Stoller Family Estate in Dayton, Oregon, established in 1993. They discuss sustainable farming practices, how they created their brand, and some of their ventures in the wine industry.
This interview was conducted by Janis Miglavs on September 20, 2007.