Black-owned Oregon winery wins awards

In order to offer transparency into how our stories are produced and to teach our readers about the importance of media literacy online, the editorial team provides a quick self-rating of the integrity of the articles and the facts presented against the following IQ metrics.

  • Published on November 24, 2022
  • Last Updated December 22, 2022
  • In Profile

Tuskegee natives Dexter and Marilyn Meadows began award-winning Meadows Estate Vineyard and Winery in Umpqua Valley near Oregon’s coast.

Trading in wine-and-dine

An hour inland of Oregon’s coast in the rolling hills of the Umpqua Valley, two retired Tuskegee natives bought an old winery and opened for business during the pandemic. Against the picturesque backdrop of the Cascade Mountain Range, Dexter and Marilyn Meadows produce a multitude of wines at the Meadows Estate Vineyard and Winery, including pinot noir, syrah, grenache and merlot.

Formally known as MarshAnne Landing Winery, the property is open to the public during tasting hours and can also be rented out for events. The Meadows have had the vineyard for three years now — the first of which was spent getting the 14 acres of vineyard back into shape, Dexter said. In the years since, though, the winery has doubled harvest production.

The couple had no experience working in a winery before. “When we bought the place, we had inventory and we had no idea what to do with it,” Dexter said. “We had a winemaker and she gave myself and my wife a crash course in how to make wine.”

In the spirit of entrepreneurship, the couple restored the five-bedroom farmhouse on the property to rent through AirBnb. Dexter, who has a master’s degree in landscape architecture from Michigan State University, explained that this property is the largest in the area at 4500 square feet, making it the perfect spot to sleep a large group of friends — up to 14 people, Dexter said.

The local community has really supported the Meadows in their endeavor to restore the winery and bring business to the area, Dexter said, explaining that the people of the town have been an invaluable resource. “This community has been really helpful in getting us settled in: all kinds of help, answering questions and dealing with harvest issues,” he said.

Three of the Meadows’ wines won awards at this year’s Los Angeles Invitational Wine & Spirits Challenge, including Double Gold and Best of Class for the 2017 Grenache. The varietals, traditionally grown in Rhone and Bordeaux, flourish in the region’s long growing season. “We still have a lot of work to do to make it even better than it is,” Dexter said.

The journey to Oregon

Buying a property in Oregon was never the Meadows’ original plan. During his career as an architect, Dexter had designed residential buildings in Pasadena and worked as a landscape architect at the Forest Service in San Dimas, California.

The pair raised a son and daughter in southern California. Like many mothers, Marilyn wore a few hats during these years. She took on many roles, including that of a lab technician, homemaker and substitute teacher in the school system.

Even before embracing their retirement, the couple worked on building out their portfolio by investing in real estate, even though they already owned several properties in southern California. Most of the properties they own in this region are residential buildings Dexter designed himself.

When preparing to buy their next property, the couple wanted to stay within California where Dexter could return to his roots and get his hands dirty in the soil. The pair were navigating scouting agricultural properties as California continued to burn, pushing the couple’s sights north until they landed in Oregon.

“I told my wife I wanted to play in the dirt in my retirement,” Dexter, who retired in 2015, said. “My background as a child and growing up as a teenager was farming.”

From Tuskegee to California

At first, Dexter and Marilyn wanted to return to the east coast for their retirement and made several investments in the state of Georgia in order to be closer to home. But it became clear that returning was not in the cards for most of the family. Dexter said his wife was the one who eventually pulled the trigger. “Our kids were in California and they were clearly not going to move back to Tuskegee,” he said.

Today, Dexter and Marilyn split their time between California and the Meadows Estate Vineyard and Winery in Oregon. Their two children have some interest in the winery, so the property might stay in the family and continue to be worked by generations of Meadows for years to come.

Loading

(Visited 85 times, 1 visits today)