Brent Stone: Oral History Interview

This interview is with Brent Stone of King Estate. In this interview, Brent talks about how he got into the wine industry after first being involved in the dairy/ice cream industry. He talks about how he started with wine through the “University of King Estate,” and later transitioned to winemaking. Brent describes the similarities/differences in packaging for ice cream vs. wine, recent production growth, and his time at King Estate thus far. Brent loves how advantageous having a big team is– everything is done by committee and that is very beneficial to its vision. He also talks about his new hybrid role at King Estate, talks about his winemaking philosophy of being rooted in sustainability, a typical day on the job, and the role of King Estate in the Oregon Wine Industry. Towards the end of the interview, Brent touches on changes he’s seen to the industry, what he sees for its future, thoughts on the Oregon Solidarity Project, his hopes for the future, and offers advice to someone wanting to enter the industry today. This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at King Estate on July 29, 2019.