40 Under 40 Tastemaker 2018 Jésus Guillén, 38, Dayton, OR

Owner/Winemaker, Guillén Family Wines; Winemaker, White Rose Estate

Crossing boundaries

In 2002, Guillén came from Mexico to visit his father, the vineyard manager at Oregon’s White Rose Estate. He didn’t speak English, nor did he know much about wine. After Guillén checked out a number of cellar doors and tastings, however, he knew it was time for a change. He relocated to Oregon, where he became a vineyard laborer and learned to speak fluent English in just nine months. Guillén didn’t use traditional methods to learn viticulture, but he was a voracious reader, and by 2008, he’d won local awards as head winemaker at White Rose. In 2013, he launched his own label, Guillén Family Wines, which moved into its own facilities this spring.

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