Bethel Heights Vineyard
| Bethel Heights Vineyard | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
vineyard designated bottlings, but also produces wines made from Chardonnay, Pinot gris, Pinot blanc, Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, and Gewürztraminer.[1][2]
Today, the winery is still owned by members of the Casteel-Dudley-Webb families. History Hearing about the Seattle, Washington and purchased land that was slated to become a trailer park in the Eola Hills northwest of the city of Salem, Oregon. The land was deemed "not suitable for farming," but the Casteels found the south-facing slope with good exposure and shallow, well-drained soils to be ideal for viticulture, so they purchased the land and planted 14 acres (5.7 ha) of Pinot noir vines in 1977.[1][9] The Casteels named the area Bethel Heights after the unincorporated area of Bethel, Polk County, Oregon where the estate is located.[10]
Over the years, the Casteels expanded and planted more acres to Pinot noir and other varieties such as Chardonnay and Pinot blanc. In 1984, a winery was built on the estate and they began producing wine under the Bethel Heights label with Terry Casteel taking over the main winemaking duties. By 1992, the winery operation had grown enough that the vineyard stopped selling fruit to other wineries and began using all of the estate grapes for the Bethel Heights label.[1] Many of Ted and Terry Casteel's children have followed in their parents' footsteps and are working in the winery. In 2007, Terry and Marilyn's son Ben Casteel took over head winemaking duties, as Terry's sense of smell declined due to the advancement of Parkinson.[3] Ted and Pat's daughter Mimi was the general manager and viticulturist until 2016, when she left Bethel Heights to focus on her own vineyard, Hope Well.[11][4] Today, the winery is still owned by members of the Casteel-Dudley-Webb families.[3][4] VineyardsBethel Heights Vineyard is a 75-acre (30 ha) site located on the west slope of the volcanic soils from previous eruptions in the Cascade Range.[12]
 As of 2008, Bethel Heights had 50 acres (20 ha) planted with 37 acres (15 ha) dedicated exclusively to Pinot noir that is partitioned into individual blocks. These include:[1]
Bethel Heights first started as a vineyard selling its grape to other winemakers and soon got a reputation for the high quality of their Pinot noirs.[1] In 1983, California wine producer Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyard even purchased grapes from Bethel Heights to produce an Oregon style Pinot noir that wine critic Anthony Dias Blue reviewed favorably.[13] As the winery operation grew, Bethel Heights stopped selling its estate fruit to other wineries in 1992 and in by 1995 they were sourcing grapes (including Riesling, Pinot gris, Grüner Veltliner, and Gewürztraminer) from several well-known and well-respected vineyards throughout the Willamette Valley. These include:[1]
 With several vineyards and designated blocks, Bethel Heights has adopted the Burgundian practice of producing several different bottlings of Pinot noirs from the individual blocks and vineyards. Terry Casteel noted to Wine Spectator that they do this because the grapes from the different blocks "...have distinct personalities, and they're complete wines." Casteel also notes that the reputation of a vineyard is enhanced by vineyard designated wine more than they would be going into a wine with a more generic Oregon wine or Willamette Valley wine label.[14]
SustainabilityThe winery has earned a reputation in the Oregon wine industry as a pioneer in "sensible and sustainable" viticulture In 1997, Bethel Heights was one of the first vineyards in Oregon to be certified Salmon-Safe[6] and they are a member of the Oregon Certified Sustainable Wine (OCSW) with their wines carrying the OCSW logo since 2008. Under these criteria Bethel Heights commits itself to producing wine that is "... made using environmentally responsible agricultural practices and responsible winemaking practices, and those are verified by an independent, third-party certifying agency."[7] In 2007, they were among the first Oregon wineries to join the Oregon Global Warming Commission and pledged to go carbon neutral by 2010.[8] To further these efforts, the winery installed solar panels in their vineyards which supplies about 40% of their energy needs.[15] People Twin brothers Ted and Terry Casteel founded Bethel Heights with their partners and other family members in 1997. The Casteel brothers graduated from University of California-Davis while Terry did apprentice work at various Willamette Valley wineries.[1] In 2010, Terry Castel was honored by Salud! for his contribution to the Oregon Pinot wine industry.[16] Ted has become an industry leader when it comes to sustainable viticulture, co-founding the Low Input Viticulture and Enology (LIVE) certification program in Oregon.[5]
Ted's wife, Pat Dudley is the president and marketing director for Bethel Heights. A graduate of New Zealand and Oregon and today co-owns and runs Casteel Custom Bottling-a mobile bottling line that serves several wineries in the Willamette.[18]
Influence on other winemakersIn its 35 years, Bethel Heights has also employed winemakers who have gone on to work at other notable wineries including Véronique Drouhin from the notable Burgundian wine family of Maison Joseph Drouhin and winemaker at Domaine Drouhin in Oregon,[20] and Gary Horner, head winemaker for Erath Winery in the Dundee Hills AVA who began his winemaking career on the bottling line of Bethel Heights.[21]
References
External links
45°02′10″N 123°09′13″W / 45.0362°N 123.1535°W | |||||||||||||
