SALEM, Ore. — For three decades, Bethel Heights Vineyard has been about family and a passion for Pinot Noir.
The story of our 2008 Oregon Winery of the Year is the story of twin brothers, Terry and Ted Casteel. In the mid-’70s, Ted and his wife, Pat, were teaching history in Michigan, while Terry and his wife, Marilyn, taught psychology in Seattle. The two couples fell in love with wine, and Terry started making wine at home. On vacations together, they would talk about planting a vineyard and starting a winery.
In 1977, Ted and Pat moved to California to begin studying viticulture at UC Davis. In February 1978, Myron Redford, a friend from the University of Washington who had recently launched Amity Vineyards, called Terry and told him about a great piece of property for sale in the hills near him. The Casteels converged from north and south, fell in love with the place and bought it.
They quickly began to add to the 14 acres already planted, getting to 51 acres of vineyards by 1981. In 1984, they built the winery and harvested the grapes for their first vintage, with Ted in charge of viticulture and Terry overseeing the winemaking.
“It was the vintage from hell,” Terry not-so-fondly recalled.
Bud break was quite late, flowering didn’t occur until July, and the grapes didn’t begin to change color until September. Bethel Heights was one of the few wineries in the state to harvest Pinot Noir above 20 brix and one of only five wineries to make red wine from that vintage.
“We figured it couldn’t get any worse,” Terry added. “It was a real nightmare.”
Terry still managed to make a Pinot Noir that won a gold medal at the Tri-Cities Wine Festival, an auspicious beginning indeed.
That first vintage, Oregon had perhaps 25 wineries. In the Eola-Amity Hills where the Casteels had set up shop, there were only two. Today, Oregon has 370 wineries, 30 of which are in the Eola-Amity Hills region.
One phenomenon that affects Bethel Heights and other nearby vineyards is the Van Duzer Corridor, a gap in the Coast Range that gives breezes from the Pacific Ocean a direct line to the Eola-Amity Hills.
“We get as warm (during the day) as everyone else,” Terry said. “But we get cooler in the evening. This means better retention of acidity throughout the ripening process, so our wines always tend to have a pure fruit character. I think we do well in the vintages where there’s more than significant heat,” he added. “Heat is one of the enemies of Pinot Noir. When you have a summer that is too hot, we tend to fare better than others.”
Then there are years like 2007, when the rains came and never seemed to stop. For the Casteels, they’d seen it all before.
“We’re feeling very good about our ’07s,” Terry said. “I’m frankly surprised the wines are as good as they are with all the rain we saw. Our viticulture was top notch. We didn’t have any disease. I think we made a very good wine out of this vintage, and we’re pleased with that.”
Terry also is pleased to be working with his son, Ben, who has been with Bethel Heights for three years and shares the title of co-winemaker. Ben, 30, spent a vintage in Burgundy, then worked at Rex Hill Vineyards before moving home in 2005.
At first, father and son were reticent about working so closely together, as discussions in the cellar can be heated. Any concerns seemed to dissipate quickly, however.
“We have long talks about winemaking,” Ben said. “One of my favorite things about being here is working with my dad. We’ve always gotten along well, so it’s been pretty easy.”
Today, the brothers and their families produce 13,000 cases of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc.
“We’re making a generational transition,” Terry said. “We’re doing it in such a way that we can pass the torch and empty our heads out for them. But,” he added with a chuckle, “I’m not slowing down much, either.”
Bethel Heights Vineyard, 6060 Bethel Heights Road N.W., Salem, Ore., 503-581-2262, bethelheights.com
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