The Oregon Wine History Archive Podcast

This interview is with Carmine Campione of Possessed Wines. In this interview, Carmine speaks about his wine journey and love for clean enjoyable wine. 

Carmine dives into his life before wine, sharing about his childhood in Kentucky and his time spent serving our country. He then speaks about his educational journey where he sought to learn anything and everything about wine. Carmine shares how he fell in love with Oregon’s cool climate and soon found himself working at Redhawk Vineyard & Winery. 

Later in the interview, Carmine talks about his hopes for the Oregon Wine industry, his own life, and his label, Possessed Wines. 

This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Carmine’s home in Lake Oswego on July 26, 2023.

This interview is with Karl Mecklem of Eagles Nest Reserve. In this interview, Karl speaks about his journey to finding wine and creating his label, Eagles Nest Reserve.

Karl talks about his childhood in Oregon and how this influenced his path to wine. He then dives into planting his own vineyard and creating his label. From water challenges to currently only having Pinot Noir to work with, Karl talks about it all. 

Later in the interview, Karl shares his aspirations for his vineyard, his label, and the Oregon wine industry as a whole. 

This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Eagles Nest Reserve winery in Hillsboro on August 9, 2023.

This interview is with John Soares of Lone Wolf. In this interview, John speaks about his introduction to wine and all the steps along the way of his wine journey so far. This includes working in production and vineyards, selling wine, distribution and helping a number of friends in the industry with their projects.

John also talks about important travels to Greece, Hungary, France and elsewhere, about some of the impactful people he has met and worked with, and about what is coming next. 

This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at John's home in Portland on August 4, 2023.

This interview is with Jana McKamey of the Oregon Winegrowers Association. In this interview, Jana speaks about her wine journey and path to finding a career associated with wine.

Jana talks about growing up in Wyoming as a Finnish dual citizen, and how she eventually found herself working in international relations and diplomacy. She then dives into her careers, which ranged from being part of the European Union to working in a little wine bar in London.

Later in the interview, Jana shares how she now found herself in Portland and working for the Oregon Winegrowers Association. She then dives into her personal and professional aspirations for the future. 

This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at VIDA Coworking in Portland on August 8, 2023.

This interview is with Kenny & Allison McMahon of Arabilis Wines. In this interview, Kenny and Allison speak about their journey in meeting each other during grad school and later creating Arabilis Wines. 

Both Kenny and Allison talk about how they fell in love with wine, whether through sensory for Allison and memories for Kenny. They then talk about how science and research shaped their path in creating their own label and winemaking philosophy. 

Later in the interview, Kenny and Allison share their aspirations for their label Arabilis.

This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Arabilis Wines in McMinnville on August 3, 2023.

This interview is with Peter Adesman of Peter William Vineyard. In this interview, Peter speaks about discovering wine at a young age and starting to explore it while pursuing his medical education. Tasting groups and travel helped him engage with and understand the fine wines of the world.

After his career brought him back to Medford, he talks about starting Peter William Vineyard, choosing what to grow and make, and figuring out how to sell wine. He also talks about the evolution he's seen in the region's wine industry.

This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt in the Nicholson Library at Linfield University in McMinnville on July 31, 2023.

This interview is with Sean Davis of Marshall Davis Wines. In this interview, Sean speaks about his journey to finding a career in wine. 

Sean talks about his love for wine as an artistic medium and dives into his previous degrees and endeavors before he found wine. He also dives into some of his current projects, as well as what he hopes to try in the future. 

Later in the interview, Sean dives into what he sees for the future of Oregon wine and his label Marshall Davis Wines. 

This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Marshall Davis Wines vineyard in Yamhill on July 28, 2023.

This interview is with Chris Bertshe of Coelho Winery. In this interview, Chris speaks about his path to becoming involved with wine. 

Chris dives into growing up in California and his introduction to the California wine scene after college. He also talks about how his accounting and finance degree has come in handy during his wine career. 

Later in the interview, Chris talks about the wine industry in terms of expansion, innovation, and efficiency. Chris also leaves us with both his professional and personal hopes. 

This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Coelho Winery in Amity on July 27, 2023.

This interview is with Dave & Deolinda Coelho of Coelho Winery. In this interview, Dave & Deolinda speak about meeting while growing up near Tracy, Calif., and becoming high school sweethearts. They talk about farming in California and then moving to Oregon, where they were introduced to wine and bought the property for what is now their home vineyard. 

They also talk about their other businesses along the way, their philosophy on hospitality, and the importance of family to their business.

This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Coelho Winery in Amity on July 27, 2023.

This interview is with Jon Foster of Ribbon Ridge Winery. In this interview, Jon speaks about his passion for wine and the journey it has led him on. 

Jon shares about growing up in Texas and how he ended up in the Caribbean after college. He dives into where he found a passion for wine and what opportunities and jobs his wine passion led to. 

Jon also talks about ending up in Oregon and finding his place at Ribbon Ridge. 

This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Ribbon Ridge Winery in Newberg on July 26, 2023.