Adelsheim hosts historic gathering of the founders of the first ten wineries in Oregon’s North Willamette Valley

On June 4th a historical gathering took place at the home of David Adelsheim and Eugenia Keegan at Quarter Mile Lane Vineyard outside Newberg, Oregon. As if transported back to the 1970s, the ten families that founded the first wineries in the North Willamette Valley came together to break bread, drink wine, and swap stories. The excuse was the 50th anniversary of the Adelsheims’ purchase of the property that became their first vineyard, but the true occasion was a celebration of friendship and the industry the families built together. The evening paid homage to the collaboration practiced by the founders themselves, who famously leaned on one another throughout those early years to plant grapes, share equipment, and compare the tasting notes and Pinot noirs that would eventually make the Willamette Valley into one of the world's great wine growing regions.

Dick Ponzi giving a toast to his fellow founders of the Willamette Valley wine industry

Guests were greeted as they would have been in 1971, with a magnum of a CK Mondavi Red Blend from California (Oregon wine was still rare back then) and cubes of Tillamook cheese. The dinner was catered by Nick’s Italian Café of McMinnville, the same Nick’s where the founders would meet and exchange ideas late into the evening, while the second generation slept under the table. The 1970’s-inspired menu and table wines (each guest brought their own historic bottles to share) prompted rounds of roasts and toasts throughout the evening, including a memorable moment from Dick Ponzi, who raised a glass to his friends and said, “I often ask myself, what was it that brought this group of people together at that time, with that grape, at this place? Nobody came with the knowledge completely, we all needed to educate each other. I think there was just a special chemistry among us, that brought the best out in everyone.”