Day to day, Bethel Heights is kept on course by an amazing team of multi-talented people. Some have been with us since some of us were children, others have come lately from near and far to land in our place. Some are members of our own family. Nothing we do at Bethel Heights is possible without this team.
BEN CASTEEL
CO-OWNER, DIRECTOR, AND WINEMAKER
ben@bethelheights.com
About Ben Casteel

After an exhilarating experience working overseas, Ben returned with a mind to work in the wine industry for a period before graduate school. He took a position as cellar assistant with Rex Hill under Lynn Penner-Ash immediately after returning from France in November of 1999 and spent the next five years working his way up from cellar assistant, to Cellar Master, and eventually Assistant Winemaker under new acting Winemaker and friend, Aaron Hess.
Ben’s father called him in the Summer of 2004 to discuss the future of Bethel Heights after his retirement, and six months later Ben accepted the position of Winemaker at Bethel Heights in January of 2005. Ben strives to continue the model established by his father and family in crafting wines that reflect vintage and terroir at Bethel Heights Vineyard. It is a vision born of thoughtful experimentation, patience, and restraint, and one that he believes can only reach fulfillment at the small winery level. The closer the winegrower’s hands are to their wines and vines, the clearer the voice of the place and time will be expressed in the cask and bottle. It is with this vision and passion that Ben hopes to carry Bethel Heights on into the future.
TED CASTEEL
CO-OWNER, DIRECTOR, AND VINEYARD MANAGER
ted@bethelheights.com
About Ted Casteel

Ted’s commitment to continual improvement of wine quality made him an early adopter of the rigorous crop control and intensive canopy management practices that have become industry standards over the years. And, from the beginning, Ted was committed to maintaining biological diversity and ecological balance on the whole farm, minimizing the use of “off-farm” inputs such as fungicides, synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and diesel. “Our family were all environmentalists before we became farmers,” he points out. Trying to figure out how to make these principles work on the ground, without compromising the quality of the fruit, was the impetus behind Ted’s leadership in the foundation of LIVE in 1997.
LIVE (Low Input Viticulture and Enology), Oregon’s unique sustainable viticulture certification program, was the first and still is the only organization in the United States certified by the IOBC (International Organization for Biological and Integrated Control of Noxious Animals and Plants). Bethel Heights was among the first vineyards certified under the LIVE standards, and released the first LIVE certified wine in 1999. Ted served for many years on the Board of Directors and technical advisory committee of LIVE, which has grown to include almost thirty percent of the vineyard acres in Oregon.
Ted has been active in all of Oregon’s key viticulture activities over the years. He has chaired the winegrape sessions of the Oregon Horticulture Society, the Grapevine Improvement Committee and the Research Committees of the Oregon Wine Advisory Board. He helped establish the Chemeketa Community College Viticulture Program, and edited two editions of the Oregon Winegrape Growers’ Guide, still the fundamental how-to book for Oregon grape growers. He served as Chair of the Oregon Wine Advisory Board from 1991 To 1993 and again from 2002 to 2003, and helped create the Oregon Wine Institute.
PAT DUDLEY
CO-OWNER, PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER
pat@bethelheights.com
About Pat Dudley

Pat served as Executive Director of the International Pinot Noir Celebration for five years (1992-1996), then went on to become one of the founders of Oregon Pinot Camp, serving on its Board of Directors from 2000 through 2009. Pat helped transform the Yamhill County Wineries Association into the Willamette Valley Wineries Association in 2005, and subsequently served on the WVWA Board of Directors for several terms.
Pat also served for quite a few years on both the Oregon Wine Board and the Oregon State Board of Agriculture, with a particular interest in forwarding the cause of farmland preservation and sustainable agriculture in Oregon. Most recently, Pat became one of the founders of the Willamette Valley Oak Accord, dedicated to organizing private landowners to protect endangered habitat in our region.
KATE CROWE
DIRECT SALES AND CELLAR CLUB MANAGER
kate@bethelheights.com
About Kate Crowe

Kate became part of the Bethel Heights family when she babysat Ben and Jon Casteel many years ago. In 1996 she started working part-time in our tasting room when it was still just a small space above the fermentation room with a hand-written receipt book. She has been with us ever since, establishing our Cellar Club in 2000, and managing the remarkable steady growth of our direct sales. Kate’s warm smile and gracious hospitality make every visitor to Bethel Heights feel welcome, and are a constant inspiration to our entire hospitality team.
JENNIFER WOOCK
ACCOUNTS MANAGER
jen@bethelheights.com
About Jen Woock

CHRIS SCHWARTZ
LOGISTICS & INVENTORY SPECIALIST
chris@bethelheights.com
About ChrisSchwartz

Chris Schwartz moved to Oregon in 2015 after a fourteen-year stint as co-owner of the famous Franks Diner in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Upon arrival in Oregon she took up residence on Bethel Heights Road, and dropped in to the winery looking for a new kind of work. First she worked the crush in 2015, where she quickly convinced everyone of her ability to do pretty much any job you could name, and do it a lot better and a lot faster than almost anyone, while doing three or four other jobs simultaneously, all with an obsession for accuracy that most employers can only dream about. Chris has been our shipping coordinator since early 2016, and there has not been a shipping error since.
Chris also shines in the front of the house, offering glowing hospitality to winery guests several days a week.
BOB TAYLOR
PROPERTY MANAGER
bob@bethelheights.com
About Bob Taylor
Bob Taylor is a renaissance man who grew up in Rochester, NY. He graduated from of the University of Dayton in 1997 and eventually settled in Oregon in 2006. In 2007, Bob worked crush at Bethel Heights and then went on to learn all sides of winegrowing in vineyards and cellars around the Willamette Valley, including some years as vineyard manager at Amity Vineyards and most recently as Cellar Master at Elizabeth Chambers Cellars, with another stint on the Bethel Heights crush crew in 2017.
As comfortable and competent in the vineyard as he is in the cellar, in 2020 Bob agreed to accept a hybrid full-time position at Bethel Heights that includes responsibilities in both the winery and in the vineyard, as well as managing initiatives to restore habitat and enhance biodiversity and sustainability for the whole property, and growing vegetables for our culinary program.
When left to his own devices Bob can usually be found working on his house, gardening or making dinner with his wife Lisa and their two children Winston and Margaret.
JOSE LUIS MARTINEZ
VINEYARD CREW LEADER
About Jose
José Luis joined our vineyard crew in 2002 after working for a while in construction and then at another Oregon vineyard where his cousin was the manager. On the job at Bethel Heights he became expert in all aspects of vineyard operations and logistics, from new vineyard layout and planting to canopy management and harvest, and he always worked on the crush crew in the winery when harvest was done. He thus moved up through the ranks until 2019 when he was promoted to Vineyard Crew Leader. José has proved to be an exceptional manager of both people and operations, and an outstanding teacher of viticultural skills to new recruits. The high level of morale on the crew is testament to his mellow good humor combined with his ability to organize the work to make best use of everyone on the team in all seasons.
VICTOR GONZALES RIVAS
VINEYARD EQUIPMENT MANAGER
About Victor Gonzales Rivas

JEFF JOHNSON
ENOLOGIST
jeff@bethelheights.com
About Jeff Johnson
Jeff has been working at Bethel Heights since January 2020. Since joining the BH team he has worn many different hats including hosting guests in the tasting room. He now works in the lab as our Enologist and in the cellar as part of our winemaking team, and makes time in between to create content for our Instagram.
Prior to beginning his winemaking career Jeff lived in Boise, Idaho where he worked in wine distribution, bartending, and wine retail.
Jeff has a continuous curiosity for learning. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in classical and jazz guitar from Central Washington University, class of 2012. In his free time he enjoys hiking with his wife and two dogs, cooking, skiing, whitewater kayaking, and exploring new wineries and restaurants.
LAUREN WALSH
About Lauren Walsh
Lauren moved to Oregon from Boston, Massachusetts in 2017. Taking full advantage of a new adventure, she attended the Oregon Culinary Institute and externed at a local catering company. After catering a few Cellar Club events, Lauren decided to change her office view from a kitchen to the beautiful rows of vines at Bethel Heights. She started working in the tasting room as a hospitality associate in 2019, and in 2021 was able to combine her passion for wine and food by helping create our Beyond the Blocks private tasting experiences with thoughtfully curated small bites to accompany our most exclusive wines. Lauren is now our full time Chef, and loves creating food pairings for both private tastings and for special winery events, as well as daily lunches of comfort food for our crush crew at harvest time.
BETSY REED
REGIONAL SALES MANAGER
betsy@bethelheights.com
About Betsy Reed
In 2018 Betsy left her 20-year higher education career to join the Bethel Heights team, first as a member of our hospitality staff, and since 2022 also serving as our traveling brand ambassador throughout most of the southern states, where she has deep connections.
A graduate of West Virginia University, Betsy worked for several years in North Carolina and then Kentucky in various promotional, marketing and advertising positions, before pursuing a Master of Education degree in 2001. Subsequently, Betsy worked with students at the University of Maryland-College Park, Carnegie Mellon University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of San Francisco in roles ranging from Career Consultant to Dean of Graduate Business Students.
Intrigued by the food-body connection, Betsy pursued her passion to become a raw/vegan chef, graduating from Living Light Culinary Institute in July 2013, and then owning and operating a vegan catering business in Nashville before thinking about a career in wine. Working part-time in the Oregon wine industry while still employed as the Dean of Graduate Business Student Services at Willamette University, Betsy finally decided to move on to what she now terms “funemployment” at Bethel Heights.
HEATHER THEESE
HOSPITALITY ASSOCIATE
heather@bethelheights.com
About Heather
Heather moved to Oregon in the summer of 2021 after a decade-long teaching career in Michigan and Florida. As a part of earning her teaching degree, Heather had the unique opportunity to live and teach in Stellenbosch, South Africa. This amazing experience ignited a passion for wine, as she had the opportunity to explore many vineyards and get some “behind the scenes” insight as one of the host families owned a beautiful vineyard there.
Upon arrival in Oregon, Heather joined the Bethel Heights team as a tasting room associate. Her ability to make connections with people, learn new content quickly, and teach it to others has allowed her to flourish in the tasting room.
In 2022, Heather began wearing a few other hats at Bethel Heights and now serves as one of our Brand Ambassadors. She represents Bethel Heights with the Willamette Valley Wineries Association, tracks and analyzes data, and makes time in between to respond to and interact with guests across our many online platforms.
In her free time, Heather enjoys hiking with her husband, spending time with family and friends, and exploring new wineries along with all the beauty Oregon has to offer.
JAIME GUZMAN
CELLAR MASTER
jaime@bethelheights.com
About Jaime Guzman
Jaime Guzman grew up on Bethel Heights Road next door to Bethel Heights Vineyard and graduated in 2005 from Amity High School (alma mater of Ben, Mimi, Jessie and Jon Casteel). Jaime started working at Bethel Heights on the vineyard crew in 2006 and eventually made his way onto the winery crush crew during harvest. His aptitude for cellar work gradually earned him his full time job as Cellar Assistant. When he’s off the job, he’s on the soccer field, spearheading the championship drive of Team Bethel Heights.
KATY FORDYCE
GARDENER
About Katy Fordyce
An Oregon native, Katy’s interest in gardening began during college. She and her partner became the caretakers of a Century Farm, complete with many overgrown flower gardens. To Katy, the work of cleaning, restoring and replanting the gardens felt like the children’s book “The Secret Garden” came to life. From that point on, gardens became a stress relief and a joy in her life.
In 2022, ready for a change after working as a chemist for fifteen years, Katy jumped at the chance to work in the gardens at Bethel Heights. To start, she completely renovated our patio area, creating a space that is more drought tolerant with more diversity and especially more native plants, welcoming beneficial insects and pollinators. She went on to plant a cutting garden at the Lewman Vineyard to supply flowers for the tasting room, while systematically exploring and foraging all the wild areas around our vineyards, gathering wildflowers and foliage in all seasons, and revealing more natural treasures than we ever imagined were living here. Katy has only just begun.
COLLEEN BELLO
HOSPITALITY ASSOCIATE
About Colleen
Colleen was first introduced to Bethel Heights in 1988 when we hosted a reception at our winery for Nordstrom, where Colleen was just beginning a 25-year management career. Colleen came to Bethel Heights often over those 25 years to enjoy the wines and the ambiance, and after she left Nordstrom in 2013, we jumped at the chance to bring her onto our hospitality team. She has been with us ever since.
During her years at Nordstrom Colleen learned all aspects of successful retail sales, including especially the art of warm hospitality, for which she has a natural gift, and enticement with good design (“always use uneven numbers of flowers in a vase”). Next time you visit our tasting room, be sure to notice her thoughtful arrangements of flowers and foliage gathered from our gardens and from the wild areas surrounding the vineyard.
MARILYN WEBB
CO-OWNER, DIRECTOR, AND SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER
marilyn@bethelheights.com
About Marilyn Webb

“When we arrived in Oregon, babies in tow, the first thing I did was organize, mostly by phone, for the dinners celebrating winners of the Oregon State Fair wine competition. Some dinners were better than others, as I recall! That would have been about 1980- 1983.” Marilyn has been cooking food to go with wine ever since, and has created memorable meals for many special occasions at Bethel Heights.
But cooking has never been Marilyn’s day job.
From the beginning, Marilyn lent her considerable organizational talents and hard work to helping to launch the Oregon wine industry. From 1980 to 1984 she served on the Oregon Winegrowers’ Association Board of Directors. In 1983, she edited the second edition of the Oregon Winegrape Growers Guide, still the basic how-to book for everyone coming to this new region to grow grapes. When the Oregon Wine
Advisory Board came into being, she served as a member from 1984 – 1988.
In 1992 Marilyn took an outside job to support college years for sons Ben and Jon, working full time until 2003 for Portland State University as a Director in the School of Extended Studies, and Director of Training for the Child Welfare Partnership – meanwhile working weekends doing all the bookkeeping for Bethel Heights and helping to keep the business plan on track. In 2003 she returned to Bethel Heights full time, serving as Chief Financial Officer.
BARBARA DUDLEY
CO-OWNER AND CHAIR OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS
About Barbara

Barbara received her law degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1971, and has since had a long career working with various labor and environmental organizations and projects, starting as a lawyer with the Agricultural Labor Relations Board in California and going on to become Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild, and Executive Director of Greenpeace USA from 1992 to 1997. No surprise in 1999 she named our new vineyard “Justice Vineyard.”
Barbara currently teaches at Portland State University, including courses on Social Sustainability, Advocacy, The Globalization of Civil Society, and Student Debt. She is a co-founder and currently serves as Senior Policy Advisor to the Working Families Party of Oregon.
MIMI CASTEEL
CO-OWNER AND DIRECTOR, WINEGROWER AT HOPE WELL VINEYARD, FOUNDER OF HOPE WELL WINE
hopewellwine@gmail.com
About Mimi Casteel

In 2016 Mimi left Bethel Heights to grow and make wine at her home vineyard, Hope Well. “Hope Well wine is the alchemy between the natural world, my deep love for this ground and the unsung heroes whose strong hands, hearts and minds have helped me make it. Human. Nature. Hope Well.” www.hopewellwine.com
JESSIE CASTEEL
CO-OWNER, DIRECTOR, AND ROVING AMBASSADOR
jdcasteel73@yahoo.com
About Jessie Casteel

As our roving Bethel Heights ambassador, Jessie can be spotted presenting our wines around Chicago and points east. Daughter of co-founders Ted Casteel and Pat Dudley, Jessie grew up among the vines at Bethel Heights, but she has lived in Chicago ever since she went off to college at the University of Chicago and fell into the tempo of urban life. In addition to her ambassadorial duties, Jessie serves on our Board of Directors where she brings a creative outlier perspective to the direction of the family business, as seen in her famous design for the Bethel Heights Family Skeleton t-shirt. “If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.”
JON CASTEEL
CO-OWNER AND OWNER/FOUNDER OF CASTEEL CUSTOM BOTTLING
About Jon Casteel
Jon Casteel, son of Terry Casteel and Marilyn Webb, is the youngest of the Casteel clan who grew up at Bethel Heights, working summers in the vineyard along with his brother and cousins. After working a harvest in New Zealand, he came back to Oregon and spent five years at Rex Hill Vineyard, first as Cellar Rat and eventually as Cellar Master.
One of Jon’s responsibilities at Rex Hill was running the bottling line. When the decision was made to re-build the Rex Hill line, Jon asked to go along to observe and participate. His skills and interest increased, and when a good friend and mentor from California called and told him about the availability of a custom-built mobile bottling line, he saw his opportunity. He approached Bethel Heights (i.e. the rest of the family) to form a partnership. In December, 2006, Casteel Custom Bottling became a reality.
Jon has since gone on to buy out his partners and expand his business to include a second bottling truck and a custom bottling facility in the heart of wine country. His scrupulous attention to detail, uncompromising customer service, and infectious good humor, have made him a success from the beginning.
TERRY CASTEEL
CO-FOUNDER AND WINEMAKER EMERITUS
About Terry Casteel
Terry was the winemaker at Bethel Heights from our first commercial vintage in 1984 until he passed the baton to his son Ben in 2006. The majority of Oregon’s pioneer winemakers came to the region and to the winemaking profession in unpredictable, illogical and amazing ways; Terry’s route is even more circuitous than most. His first degree was in English Literature from the Presbyterian (read no-alcohol) Whitworth College in Spokane. At Princeton, Casteel was awarded a Master’s Degree in Theology. Back in Washington, at the University in Seattle, Casteel received his PhD. in Educational Psychology. Terry started making wine in his basement in Seattle while earning a living practicing psychology in Seattle in the 1970’s.
Terry’s winemaking style evolved along with our vineyard, and always reflected the intimate connection between Bethel Heights Vineyard and the people who live here. His approach was well articulated in an extended interview following the 1999 vintage: “I look for a transparency in our winemaking that allows the character of the site to show through. We want to express in our wine not just the character of Pinot noir, but the character of Bethel Heights. We want to capture the synergy between this grape and this place.”
Besides making wonderfully expressive wines for our first thirty years, Terry was actively involved in the Oregon wine community, and was a respected mentor to many fellow winemakers. Terry served as a founding member of the board of the International Pinot Noir Celebration from 1988 to 2002, and served many years on the board of the ¡Salud! Pinot Noir Auction to support healthcare services for vineyard workers.
Terry is also an accomplished photographer. He created many of the iconic photos of Bethel Heights that can be seen at the winery and on our website.
DEEDEE DUDLEY GUSMAO
CO-OWNER & BRAND AMBASSADOR
About DeeDee Dudley
DeeDee Dudley, daughter of Barbara, lives in Chicago, where she has turned her love for children into a successful career as a professional nanny. DeeDee has a special connection to Bethel Heights as the one place she has always come home to for holidays and vacations since her childhood. Like all the cousins, she has her own special places and memories around the vineyard that she now shares with her own daughter whenever they come here. It is this shared sense of continuity that makes DeeDee a special ambassador for Bethel Heights
wherever she goes.
VINEYARD CREW
back row, left to right: Maria, Asunción, Catalína, Blanca, José Luís, Francisco, Nicolasa, Joaquín, Juan (Chapo), Victor
front row, left to right: Isabel, Vicente, Jesús, Serafin