Diego Valeri: Oral History Interview

This interview is with Diego Valeri of Conur Wines. In this interview, Diego talks about his journey of becoming a professional soccer player with the Portland Timbers and eventually creating his own wine company.Diego talks about how creating a wine company was not actually his idea, but his wife, Florencia’s scheme. However, Diego planned to wait until he retired to begin the endeavor. After nine reasons with the Timbers, Diego and his family moved to Florida where he met Frederico Garobbio and his wife Luci who were from the same area of Argentina. The stars aligned when Frederico revealed that it was his dream to produce wine. Diego discusses his connection to wine as the center of communication and celebration. To Diego, wine was always in the middle of socializing and friendship. As the company began with four Argentinians who live in the United States, the team wanted to put their blended cultures in the bottle. Along with what is inside the bottle, the design of the labels features a cartoon dog with a special meaning to the four owners. Florencia even writes a special story on the back of each label.Later in the interview, Diego talks about the uniqueness of Conur Wines. Specifically, Conur produces a white blend called “Mate” that blends Argentina and Oregon grapes. He also discusses his 70/30 blend of pinot and Malbec that mirrors a popular drink in Argentina.This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Northwest Wine Company in Dundee on June 2, 2026.