Beyond the Vines: The Second Generation

The original goal of this research grant was to have my student, Julian Adoff, assist me in transcribing a number of taped interviews in the Oregon Wine History Archive and complete an extensive annotated bibliography of relevant secondary works related to the history of the Oregon Wine Industry specifically, and the history of wine and its impact on social and cultural developments more broadly (in the U.S. and globally). Those goals were met. The taped interviews highlighted the experiences of many of the women who were part of the first generation of wine producers in the Willamette Valley, beginning in the 1960s. These interviews touched on a number of recollections of these women as to what it meant to be one of the first in the region to attempt to create wine, and many of the challenges they faced (including gendered assumptions about their ability) as women in a male-dominated industry. Having them transcribed (from tape and video) rendered them much more accessible for me and made the information easier to analyze and incorporate into manuscript drafts. The annotated bibliography of secondary sources created by Julian allowed me to create a strong historical foundation to my research on the Oregon wine industry by providing me with some of the existing historical arguments to potentially apply to my own study, as well as providing historical contexts and framework by which I was able to develop research questions unique to this topic. Some of the initial questions raised by my own analysis of the interview information and the secondary source contexts were highlighted in Julian’s poster presented at the Student Symposium in May 2015. In the end, the research projects completed by Julian under the support of this grant provided me with primary and secondary source material to begin work on two journal-length manuscripts: one on the history of women and family relationships in the Oregon wine industry, and the other on the history of migrant labor in the Oregon wine industry. The first piece was presented at the annual Western Association of Women Historians in 2016 and after further research, is now under revision for publication with the Oregon Historical Review. The second piece is still in the initial draft stages (more research is needed) and is currently being developed with the help of a grant from the Oregon Cultural Trust (as of Spring 2020)