Bethel Heights Vineyard

Bethel Heights Vineyard is an Oregon winery in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA of the Willamette Valley.

[8] Hearing about the growing Oregon wine industry and the work of pioneering winemakers making Pinot noir, the Casteel brothers and their wives sold their houses in Seattle, Washington and purchased land that was slated to become a trailer park in the Eola Hills northwest of the city of Salem, Oregon.

In 1984, a winery was built on the estate and they began producing wine under the Bethel Heights label with Terry Casteel taking over the main winemaking duties.

[3] Ted and Pat's daughter Mimi was the general manager and viticulturist until 2016, when she left Bethel Heights to focus on her own vineyard, Hope Well.

[3][4] Bethel Heights Vineyard is a 75-acre (30 ha) site located on the west slope of the Eola Hills just northwest of Salem in the shadow of Mount Jefferson.

These include:[1] Bethel Heights first started as a vineyard selling its grape to other winemakers and soon got a reputation for the high quality of their Pinot noirs.

[1] In 1983, California wine producer Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyard even purchased grapes from Bethel Heights to produce an Oregon style Pinot noir that wine critic Anthony Dias Blue reviewed favorably.

Later in the season they do use some synthetic products for reliability and to lessen the overall environmental impact of fuel, emission and labor cost that repeated organic spraying would require.

[15] Twin brothers Ted and Terry Casteel founded Bethel Heights with their partners and other family members in 1997.

Soon after the Casteel purchased the vineyard, Ted went to study viticulture at the University of California-Davis while Terry did apprentice work at various Willamette Valley wineries.

After years of grape growing, a winery was built on the estate in 1984.
One of the Bethel Heights estate vineyards and the Eola-Amity Hills AVA as scene from the tasting room.
A Grüner Veltliner made by Bethel Heights
The Bethel Heights team. From left to right are Mimi Casteel, Ben Casteel, Pat Dudley, Ted Casteel, Terry Casteel, Marilyn Webb and Kate Crowe.