OWB Board Members
Leigh Bartholomew, Chairwoman
Dominio IV Winery
503.864.4300, leighb@archerysummit.com
Term expires: 12/31/2015
Leigh Bartholomew has worked in the Oregon wine industry for 12
years as the vineyard manager at Archery Summit Winery in
the Dundee Hills and as the co-owner of
Dominio IV winery of The Columbia Gorge.
After gleaning hands-on vineyard experience in both Washington
State and Chile, Leigh studied viticulture at the University of
California at Davis. Master's degree in hand, she then traveled the
world, working harvests from California to Burgundy to New Zealand.
Returning to the West Coast in 2000, Leigh became the vineyard
manager for Archery Summit. In 2002, she and Patrick Reuter planted
their vineyard in Mosier and began producing their own wines for
their brand Dominio IV.
Leigh is a graduate of the University of California Davis with a
master of science degree in horticulture. She also holds a
bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon in International
Studies with a focus on South America. Her experience includes
conducting viritcultural research at Robert Mondavi Winery in
Oakville, CA, as a customcrush manager at Vina Errazuriz and
Caliterra in Chile and as a viticulturalist at Cain Vineyard in St.
Helena, CA.
As vineyard manager at Archery Summit, she farms 120 acres of
Pinot noir with a style that is a blend of scientific knowledge and
experienced instinct. The Dominio IV winery resides in the thriving
Granary District of McMinnville. What was once a dilapidated,
agricultural storage building has since been renovated into the
perfect home for creating and enjoying wines.
Michael Donovan, Chairman Emeritus
RoxyAnn Winery
541.776.2315, michael@roxyann.com
Term expires: 12/31/2015
Michael Donovan has worked to support the wine industry in
Oregon since 1973. Since 2003, he has been the managing director
and a minority shareholder of RoxyAnn Winery in Medford, OR. He has
served as a member of the Marketing Committee of the Oregon Wine
Board since 2008. Michael was awarded the Distinguished Service
Award by the Oregon Wine Board for service to the Oregon wine
industry in 2008.
Bill Sweat, Vice Chariman
Winderlea Vineyard & Winery
503.550.5900, bill@winderlea.com
Term expires: 12/31/2013
Bill Sweat and his wife Donna Morris are co-owners of Winderlea
Vineyard and Winery, a boutique producer of Pinot noir and
Chardonnay in Dundee, Oregon. Bill moved to Oregon in September of
2006, managed his first Crush a few weeks later, and purchased the
renowned Goldschmidt Vineyard in November. Prior to starting
Winderlea, Bill acted as interim COO for The Womens' Union in
Boston. He spent most of his career in Financial Services, most
recently as the Senior Vice President and General Manager of the
Fidelity Investments retail phone center in Merrimack, New
Hampshire. Bill also also had the pleasure of working three years
in Tokyo with Fidelity Investments Japan as Vice President -
Regional Operations Manager, helping them to start new business
lines and supporting operations.
Bill is very active with his alma mater, Bates College where he
recently completed terms as Co-chair of the Annual Fund, and as
President of the Alumni Association. Since moving to Oregon, Bill
has joined the Board of Habitat for Humanity's Newberg affiliate,
sits on the Executive Committee and chairs the finance committee as
Treasurer. He is also a member of the Steering Committee for
iSalud!, the organization that provides health care to Oregon's
vineyard workers and their families. In 2010, Bill joined the board
of the Portland Opera.
Bill has a BA in history from Bates College and an MBA from the
Carroll School of Management at Boston College and surprised
himself recently by voluntarily buying and reading a book on
Mycorrhizae, a fungus that colonizes and forms a mutualistic
relationship with the root system of its host plant.
Bill and his wife, Donna Morris, reside in Dundee.
Ellen Brittan, Treasurer
Brittan Vineyards
503.989.2507, ellen@brittanvineyards.com
Term expires: 12/31/2015
In 2004, Ellen Brittan and her husband Robert purchased what is
now Brittan Vineyards in the McMinnville AVA. Ellen is a graduate
of the University of Washington with degrees in French and Spanish
language and Literature and had always longed to return to her
Northwest roots.
Ellen focuses on sales, marketing and financial side of the
family winery, which procudes estate grown Pinot noir and Syrah
under the Brittan Vineyards label. In addition, Ellen serves as
General Manager of the Carlton Winemakers' Studio, a cooperative
winery and tasting room where 11 artisan producers make and sell
their wines.
Before moving to Oregon in 2008, Ellen spent 11 years in the
Napa Valley as general manager of Rudd Vineyards & Winery and
then as executive director of the Rudd Group, a portfolio of luxury
food and wine businesses that includes Dean & DeLuca, Rudd and
Edge Hill Wineries, Distillery 209, Oakville Grocery and PRESS
Restaurant. While working with the Rudd Group, Ellen also served as
the executive director of the Rudd Foundation where she oversaw the
development of the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies at the
Culinary Institute of America, and the Rudd Center for Food Policy
and Obesity at Yale University. Prior to venturing into the wine
business, Ellen spent 20 years in the Financial Services industry
before deciding to give up the corporate world to follow her
passion for food and wine.
David P. Beck,
Crawford Beck Vineyard LLC
503.835.0828, david@crawfordbeck.com
Term expires: 12/31/2013
A graduate of Princeton University and the Johns Hopkins
University, David Beck completed postdoctoral studies at Harvard
University. His scientific background is in biochemistry and
genetics, and he worked for more than forty years in research and
science administration. David and his wife, Jeanne, also a
scientist, share a life long passion in wine, and they have
traveled extensively to visit vineyards all over the world. When it
came time to consider their next career (they use the terms refocus
and refinance, instead of retire), David and Jeanne chose farming
wine grapes in Oregon, whose spectacular wines they had long
admired.
They operate the Crawford Beck Vineyard in Amity, Oregon. The
vineyard is on a 48 acres farm and currently 15 acres are planted
with vines producing ultra-premium pinot noir, pinot gris, and
chardonnay. Strong advocates of sustainable farming, the Becks have
obtained LIVE and Salmon Safe certifications for their vineyard.
David is also an advocate of advancing the wine grape industry
through research, and he has been active on the Oregon Wine Board's
Research Committee.
Sam Tannahill,
A to Z Wineworks
503.554.1918, sam@atozwineworks.com
Term expires: 12/31/2013
Sam Tannahill graduated from Washington and Lee with an East
Asian Studies degree that he uses on a daily basis in the winery.
After traveling through Central Asia for a year he settled down
working in the wineries and vineyards of Burgundy at Domaine De
L'Arlot for two years and managed to bluff his way to a
post-graduate degree in winemaking from the University de Dijon. He
reentered the wine industry in the United States by working with
Ted Lemon at Littorai, but soon heard the siren song of Yamhill
County, Oregon and Archery Summit. Seven years later, after laying
a foundation as winemaker at Archery Summit, he decided the time
was ripe and stuck out for further fame, glory and new horizons in
the form of A to Z Wineworks with his wife, Cheryl Francis, and
Bill and Deb Hatcher. A to Z expanded in 2007 with the purchase of
Rex Hill winery. Sam and Cheryl also own Francis Tannahill - a
winery and biodynamic vineyard founded in 2001. Sam and Cheryl made
wines for Le Cadeau - a small Pinot Noir project in Oregon. He was
also winemaker for Shea Wine Cellars from 2001 - 2004 Other
projects have been consulting for various wineries including Battle
Creek, Sawtooth and Zelko. As if that wasn't enough to think about
he also is enjoying his children Theo, Oliver
and Stella.
Steve Thomson
King Estate Winery
541.942.9874, stevet@kingestate.com
Term expires: 12/31/2016
Steve Thomson is executive vice president of King Estate Winery
near Eugene. King Estate is Oregon's largest winery and the largest
producer of Pinot gris in the U.S. Thomson is also a partner in
Octave Vineyard, LLC in Walla Walla, Washington. Thomson is
graduate of the University of Illinois. Since joining King Estate
in 1999, he has served in a number of sales and marketing positions
including Director of Sales and Marketing. Prior to King Estate,
Thomson had extensive management experience in the restaurant and
hotel industries as well as wine distribution. Thomson is also on
the Boards of Wine America and The Northwest Wine Coalition as well
as the Advisory Committee of the Chemeketa College Viticulture
& Enology program.
King Estate is a sustainably farmed 1,033 acre certified organic
vineyard complex and state of the art winery situated atop the
rolling oak and fir covered slopes in the Coast Range foothills,
near the southern end of Oregon's Willamette Valley. In addition to
world class vineyards, the estate is home to organic orchards,
vegetable gardens, olive trees, and a host of native wildlife;
including cougar and black bear.
Organically farmed and managed as a fully integrated ecosystem,
King Estate is home to an innovative and forward looking culinary
program whose focus is the synergy of local, organically produced
food and wine created just outside the kitchen door. King Estate's
critically acclaimed Pinot gris and Pinot noir wines are available
through fine restaurants and retailers worldwide.
Doug Tunnell
Brick House Vineyards
503.538.5136, doug@brickhousewines.com
Term expires: 12/31/2015
Doug Tunnell returned to his native Oregon after a 20 year career
in foreign news to found Brick House Vineyards in 1990. Dedicated
to growing the three great varieties of Burgundy - Pinot Noir,
Chardonnay and Gamay Noir - the vineyards were first certified
organic in 1990 and later Demeter Biodynamic in 2005. Doug is a
graduate of West Linn High School (where his father was
Superintendent for 32 years.) He holds a B.A. in Philosophy from
Lewis and Clark College and and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia
University. He served as a governor's appointee on the board of
Oregon Public Broadcasting for 9 years and is currently a trustee
of Linfield College from which he received a honorary doctorate of
Humane Letters in 2005. Doug and his wife Melissa Mills reside at
Brick House Vineyards where they produce approximately 4,000 cases
of estate grown wine annually.
Juan Pablo "JP" Valot
Silvan Ridge Winery
541.345.1945, juanpablov@silvanridge.com
Term expires: 12/31/2016
Juan Pablo "JP" Valot was born in Mendoza, Argentina. JP
completed a five years degree in agricultural sciences, with a
focus in enology and viticulture at the National University of
Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina. In 2001 he came to Oregon looking for new
challenges and attracted by Oregon's growing wine industry. JP's
qualifications include 12 years of experience in wine production
with 15 vintages between his work in Oregon and Argentina. He has
played multiple roles in Oregon's wine industry including
winemaker, vineyard manager, and educator at Chemeketa Community
College. He is a well-rounded wine professional who understands the
winemaking process from the vine to glass. JP has worked for Silvan
Ridge Winery for the last seven years and became the Winemaker in
August 2012. JP's other passion is to spend time with his wife
Doris and his baby boy Francisco.