Episode #6
Season 9 - Episode 10 - Bethel Heights
Some wine stories begin with a bottle. This one begins with a family, an abandoned walnut orchard, and a leap of faith in the Eola Hills. On this episode of Wine Crush Podcast, Heidi sits down with Ben Casteel, second-generation winemaker, co-owner and director of Bethel Heights Vineyard, for a conversation about family, legacy, Oregon wine and the land that has shaped it all. Bethel Heights began in 1977, when the Casteel and Dudley families discovered an abandoned walnut orchard in what is now the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. They planted their first vines between 1977 and 1979 and released their first commercial vintage in 1984, becoming part of the pioneering generation that helped establish the Willamette Valley as a world-class wine region. Ben literally grew up among those vines, spending summers working in the vineyard with his family. Wine wasn’t originally his career plan. He headed to the University of Oregon intending to pursue English literature, but a 1999 harvest in Burgundy changed his trajectory. After gaining experience at Rex Hill, Ben returned home and eventually took the winemaking reins from his father, Terry Casteel. Today, Ben carries Bethel Heights into its second generation while staying deeply connected to the philosophy that has guided the family from the beginning: make wines that speak clearly of place, vintage and the remarkable landscape of the Eola-Amity Hills. Heidi and Ben talk about those early Oregon wine pioneers, growing up at Bethel Heights, taking over a family legacy, old vines, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and what it means to steward a piece of Oregon wine history for the generations still to come. This is more than a conversation about wine. It’s about family, place and nearly five decades of believing in a hillside in Oregon. Pour yourself a glass and join us for Wine Crush Podcast
