A highly regarded Dundee Hills winery just changed hands from one family to another. It is a fitting new chapter for a story that has involved continuous family ownership for over 50 years.
Joth Ricci, executive chairman of Burgerville, announced his family’s purchase of Winderlea Vineyard & Winery in a statement released early Thursday. The winery was founded as a legal entity by Donna Morris and Bill Sweat in 2005.
Ricci said that as Winderlea celebrates the 20th anniversary of Morris and Sweat’s first vintage in 2006, “We’re excited to build on what they’ve created, and steward the winery with care in the years ahead.”
Winderlea Vineyard & Winery, home to one of the best views in the valley, sits high atop the Dundee Hills on Worden Hill Road. It is also home to a significant bit of Willamette Valley wine history.
The first vines planted on the site in 1974 were the result of a collaboration between John and Sally Bauers, Dick Erath and David Adelsheim. The Bauers family named their property Dundee Hills Vineyard. Winderlea’s estate vineyard still contains approximately two acres of the original 1974 vines, which are among the oldest in the Willamette Valley.
Winderlea Vineyard & Winery on Worden Hill Road in Dundee.Michael Alberty/For The OregonianWinderlea Vineyard & Winery is known for pinot noir, chardonnay, and most recently, sparkling wine.Michael Alberty/For The Oregonian
Former Oregon governor Neil Goldschmidt and his wife, Diana Snowden, purchased the vineyard from the Bauers in 1998 and renamed it Goldschmidt Vineyard. Goldschmidt, whose legacy is forever stained by his 2004 confession to the statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl, sold the vineyard to Morris and Sweat in December 2006.
In two decades at Winderlea Vineyard & Winery, Morris and Sweat built a stylish tasting room on the property, and in 2015, shepherded the vineyard’s farming practices to Demeter-certified biodynamic. In 2015, Winderlea also became a Certified B Corp, further establishing Morris and Sweat’s commitment to responsible farming and accountable business practices.
The quality of Winderlea wines is as impressive as Morris and Sweat’s stewardship of the land. Over the past 20 years, Winderlea wines have received 90-point scores or higher 224 times from legacy publications such as Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator.
With the sale, Joth and his wife, Robin Ricci, take possession of the winery and Winderlea’s estate vineyard, which contains 16.43 acres of pinot noir and two acres of chardonnay. They will continue to maintain Winderlea’s lease at Worden Hill Vineyard, as well as work with fruit from the Meredith Mitchell and Shea vineyards.
Anna Ricci, a fourth-generation Oregonian as well as Joth and Robin’s daughter, will be actively involved in supporting day-to-day operations at the winery, Joth Ricci said.
Morris and Sweat said that since they didn’t have heirs to take over Winderlea, a sale was always part of their succession plan. Morris and Sweat also think the Ricci family, with its multigenerational approach, is a great fit to carry on their work.
“This is a true family-to-family transition rooted in Oregon, shared values and deep respect for the people and the place,” Morris said. “What gave us confidence was not only Joth’s experience, but the way the entire Ricci family is approaching this with care and humility. They have a genuine desire to learn, support the existing team and carry forward the work that defines Winderlea. That approach matters to us, and to the future of Oregon wine.”
In addition to his current executive position with Burgerville, Ricci’s experience includes numerous leadership roles in the food and beverage industry, including general manager at Columbia Distributing and president of Stumptown Coffee Roasters, where he launched Cold Brew and led the brand to its existing partnership with Peet’s Coffee. In 2021, Ricci, as CEO, guided Dutch Bros Coffee through the largest initial public offering in Oregon history.
Ricci, who developed deep ties in the Oregon wine industry as president and CEO at Adelsheim Vineyard from 2017 to 2019, is eager to get back into the business, even as national wine sales trend downward. “Industries and markets go through correction cycles, and I think that we’re really in a correction cycle right now,” Ricci said. “I thought it was a great time to get involved, because I’m bullish on the long-term prospects of the wine industry in general, and even more so for the Oregon wine industry.”
Ricci and his family plan to continue working with Morris and Sweat’s business model while exploring ways to extend the brand, particularly to bolster the winery’s digital presence. According to Ricci, “In this consumer environment, you have to have a strong digital presence that matches your brand and your brand story. That will extend eyeballs and the presence of the brand.”
The key, Ricci said, after getting those eyes on your brand, is to make the tasting room visitor feel like they are the most important person in the room. “Whether it was at Stumptown, Adelsheim or Dutch Bros, I learned that you have to be thankful and humble, and show customers the things they came to see and learn about, and just give them exceptional service,” Ricci said.
Donna Morris and Bill Sweat grew Winderlea from producing 575 cases of wine in their first vintage to averaging 4,700 cases annually over the last five years.
Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Sunday, closed Wednesday, 8905 N.E. Worden Hill Road, Dundee, winderlea.com or [email protected].
— Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. He can be reached at [email protected]. To read more of his coverage, go to oregonlive.com/wine
