Podcast
The Oregon Wine History Archive Podcast
Hosted by The Oregon Wine History Archive · EN
The Oregon Wine History Archive at Linfield University was created to collect, preserve, share, and continue the narrative of Oregon wine.
The growth of the Oregon wine industry extends from the farmers and winemakers to the marketers, scientists, innovators, and dreamers of the enterprise — all of whom are vital to the industry’s success. It is our aim to link the past, present, and future of the industry in hopes of sharing the story of Oregon wine.
Some oral history interviews are conducted on site and may contain background noise from nature, winery, or tasting room operations.
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Episodes
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Levi Danielson: Oral History Interview
Jun 2901:56:02Tap to summarizeThis interview is with Levi Danielson of RAW Cider Company. In this interview, Levi explains his motivation for bringing “fine-dining” cider to the Oregon wine/cider industry. Levi talks about how his background in microbiology and health. Attending the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Levi was interested in the healthcare industry, especially nutrition. After working many hours in the healthcare system, Levi wanted a break, so he headed to France.Levi discusses his experience in France as he worked on an organic cider farm. During his time on the farm, he learned about traditional cider making. While he always had an interest in fermentation, he was planning on returning to the healthcare industry. It was until he compared the lifestyles of the people within the healthcare industry and the cider industry, that he realized which life he would rather live. After six months in France, he returned to the United States and eventually started his own cider company with the knowledge he gained in France.Later in the interview, Levi explains his vision for RAW Cider Company. The company’s slogan, “work with wild,” represents using natural techniques to produce his cider. They do everything in-house and even have a tasting room on the orchard. Levi hopes to scoop wine people up who are visiting the Willamette Valley and introduce them to fine cider. Now, Levi is learning how to be a boss and manage a company. A black belt in jujitsu, Levi explains the similarities between the sport and cider making. For both, one must have the confidence to be creative and the confidence to fail.This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at RAW Cider Company in Dayton on June 23, 2026.
Transcribe →Teddi Fuller: Oral History Interview
Jun 2400:59:34Tap to summarizeThis interview is with Teddi Fuller of Lushington Wines. In this interview, Teddi discusses the lifestyle she has built through wine and art. Teddi talks about how she ended up in Lyle, Washington. She graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in fine arts without a defined career path. After she moved to California to ski, she worked in restaurants and a wine bar where she learned a lot about wine through their wine education programs. After working harvests in Tasmania and New Zealand, Teddi set out for a place with mountains, eventually finding Lyle.Teddi discusses finding a vineyard to farm in exchange for grapes to make wine, creating Lushington Wines in the process. Later, Teddi talks about buying the house across the road from the vineyard and enjoying the proximity to the vineyard.Later in the interview, Teddi talks about her passion for art and how it translates into Lushington. Teddi creates the labels herself with her recognizable style of vertical lines. Teddi emphasizes how wine overlap with art. She explains how both wine and art involve trusting your intuition and making your own decisions.This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Hi Hill Vineyard on June 16, 2026.
Transcribe →Brandon Hasart: Oral History Interview
Jun 2401:28:45Tap to summarizeThis interview is with Brandon Hasart of Lingua Franca. In this interview, Brandon talks about his wine journey and how he came to be the vineyard manager at Lingua Franca.Brandon speaks about his original intention to work in veterinary medicine, but becoming interested in wine while attending Washington State University. He charts his path from the initial interest to a variety of internships in Oregon and abroad.From there, Brandon talks about his work at Abacela Winery in the Umpqua Valley and Brittan Vineyards in the Willamette. He speaks about the lessons he learned on the wine production side, and then his growing interest in viticulture. This led him to pursue his career working with the vines.This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Lingua Franca in Salem on April 1, 2026.
Transcribe →Carrie Alexander: Oral History Interview
Jun 2301:02:56Tap to summarizeThis interview is with Carrie Alexander of Holocene Wines. In this interview, Carrie discusses the many different roads she has taken that eventually led her to wine. Carrie talks about the various career paths she has taken. She started pursuing a degree in teaching which she later changed and graduated with a fine arts degree. While she played with owning coffee shops, skate shops, and being a hairdresser, she was introduced to wine by working in restaurants. Carrie discusses how she first began tasting wine while working in restaurants and hospitality in Napa Valley. Eventually, she moved up to making wine lists and running tasting rooms. After meeting her husband who is a winemaker, their dream was to own their own wine brand where her husband would make the wine and she would do the rest. Then in 2015, they achieved their dreams in creating Holocene. In 2020, they also started making wine in France.Later in the interview, Carrie talks about her proudest achievement during her time in the industry. For her, creating Grenache Fest is what she is the most proud of. After finding out that many others share her love of Grenache, she decided to create an event that honors it.This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Salishan Coastal Lodge on June 15, 2026.
Transcribe →Eric Weisinger: Oral History Interview
Jun 2201:17:02Tap to summarizeThis interview is with Eric Weisinger of Weisinger Family Winery. In this interview, Eric discusses his 30 years in the industry and how he came right back to where he started. Eric talks about how his father always had a dream of owning a winery. Eric was roped into this dream when his father suffered an injury and he had to take over. From there, he realized he was drawn to wine and could make a living from it. For many years, Eric would switch from the two hemispheres for harvest. It was when he hadn’t seen spring in over 10 years that he decided to return to his father’s business in 2011.Eric discusses how him and his father were best friends, but bad colleagues. Eric had left his father’s business originally to learn about the industry from new places and perspectives. When his father asked him to return, he figured the worst that could happen is that he might fail.Later in the interview, Eric talks about the future of the industry and Southern Oregon’s unique attributes to it. Eric believes that to stay relevant within the industry, you must be able to change. He also believes that Southern Oregon can evolve by leaning into its uniqueness of topography. Eric plans to change and stay relevant to continue carrying on his father’s dream.This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Weisinger Family Winery on June 11, 2026.
Transcribe →Mike Brunson: Oral History Interview
Jun 2201:03:36Tap to summarizeThis interview is with Mike Brunson of Valley View Winery. In this interview, Mike discusses what it is like to be a winemaker and how that passion brought him to Oregon. Mike talks about his journey into the wine industry and how he had a natural gift for it. Mike has a good sense of smell and strong palate. This paired well with his former boss, Fred Payne, who passed the job down to Mike. Fred had his PHD in food science and Mike had the natural abilities. Mike reminisces about Fred serving as a meaningful mentor.Mike discusses the working relationship between him and his son who also works at Valley View. While they may argue over what music to play while working, Mike is proud of his children for the people they have become. Even his daughter is in the industry as she runs a separate winery.Later in the interview, Mike talks about what it is like to be head winemaker and having the wines you make available to consumers. He imagines that seeing people buy your wines is like being a music artist and having people sing your songs. This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Valley View Winery on June 11, 2026.
Transcribe →Mike & Mark Wisnovsky: Oral History Interview
Jun 1801:22:16Tap to summarizeThis interview is with Mike and Mark Wisnovsky of Valley View Winery. In this interview, the brothers discuss the responsibility of continuing the legacy their parents passed onto them. The brothers talk about how they were almost born into the industry. They started planting at four and eight years old, learning the ins and outs of harvest. When they were made partners after their father passed away, they were forced to make big decisions about the winery earlier than most. After their mother passed away, they took on full responsibility of the winery. Now, Mark’s children work with their father and uncle, a three generational impact on Valley View.Mark discusses how connected he is to the vineyard even having nightmares about bugs and various other corruption. This isn’t just a business for the family, it is their life. While Mark focuses on the vineyard, Mike is responsible for the sales. They described their partnership as passing the baton to each other throughout the years. Later in the interview, the duo talks about their strengths. With the responsibility of continuing a 50-year legacy, they discuss how they keep the business afloat. A big strength they talked about is their accessibility. They also discuss the benefits of producing wine in Southern Oregon as it is the place to go to try something different.This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Valley View Winery on June 11, 2026.
Transcribe →Soléna Andrus Montalieu & Danielle Andrus
Jun 1501:38:47Tap to summarizeThis 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.
Transcribe →Jen Parr: Oral History Interview
Jun 1201:49:38Tap to summarizeThis interview is with Jen Parr of Valli Wines in New Zealand. In this interview, Jen talks about her plethora of experiences in different wine regions of the world. Jen talks about growing up in Portland and eventually heading to Stanford University pursuing a degree in English literature. During her time at Stanford, she discovered the wine industry for the first time. After graduating, she transitioned into financial software sales until she found she was hitting snooze on her alarm every morning, not excited to go to work. From there, she decided she wanted to work in the wine industry because she wanted to drink wine that was out of her price range and make a livelihood out of this passion.Jen discusses how she sent around 45 letters to wineries in hopes they would be willing to let her work a harvest. Since she didn’t have any experience at the time, she received many rejections, if any response at all. However, a special place responded and gave her a chance. After working her first harvest, Jen went around the world working at different companies and learning about the unique qualities of each place. Jen specifically notes her formative time in South Africa because of the team she worked with. Eventually, she settled at Valli Wines in New Zealand, where she works today and plans on staying. Later in the interview, Jen talks about the future of the industry. Jen believes the industry needs to work with consumers to help them find the language of wine and explain why they like what they like. Jen describes wine as “liquid language” as it connects people, place, and time. Jen compares the future of the industry to Darwinism, and explains how the wineries that are able to adapt and listen will survive. This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Jen’s childhood home in Portland on June 8, 2026.
Transcribe →Bruce Felix: Oral History Interview
Jun 1101:19:09Tap to summarizeThis interview is with Bruce Felix of Pacific Winemaking. In this interview, Bruce explains how he transitioned into the wine industry and his thoughts on the future of Oregon wine. Bruce talks about working in petrochemicals and paint after he moved to Australia with an exchange student. Not only did Bruce sell petrochemicals, he also sold tartaric acid to winemakers, sparking his initial interest in wine. Through these jobs, Bruce was able to travel all over the world and try different wines. It was when his friend moved into the wine industry and started a wine supply company that Bruce made the switch into the industry as well. This company is known as Vinvicta Services.Bruce discusses how he ended up in the Oregon wine industry specifically. In 2005, Bruce wanted to come back to the United States for family and was looking for a place to settle. It turns out, Oregon was the perfect fit, so he started his current company, Pacific Winemaking, in March of 2006. He began the services as a one-man operation which has grown significantly over the years. This year, Pacific Winemaking celebrates 20 years of business. Later in the interview, Bruce talks about the future of the industry. He believes that people are not done drinking wine and that wine will always have a place. He explains that wineries need to tailor-make their production and get rid of the backlog of product from overproduction. Bruce also emphasizes using new technology within the industry. He discusses how a lot of new technology is trailed in Europe, but not the United States. His company would like to introduce these tactics to the Unites States to improve production.This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Bruce’s home in Hillsboro on June 8, 2026.
Transcribe →