Emily Rozga: Oral History Interview

This interview is with Emily Rozga of Soter Vineyards. Emily is originally from Santa Rosa, California, and talks about growing up around food, agriculture, and the outdoors. She shares how those early interests led her to attend Cal Poly with the focus on wine and viticulture, initially believing winemaking would be her future. Through internships, harvest experiences, and working in tasting rooms and cellars, she discovered she was more drawn to vineyard health and grape growing than production itself. Emily discusses wanting to see more of the world after college, traveling internationally, gaining hands-on vineyard experience abroad, including time in New Zealand. She reflects on returning to California, working in Napa, and eventually stepping away from the wine industry for a period to work in organic vegetable farming in the Pacific Northwest. The experience deepened her interest in ecology, sustainability, and long-term land health.Next, Emily talks about how she returned to wine with a different perspective—focused less on winemaking and more on viticulture, vineyard systems, and environmental stewardship. She talks about collecting vineyard data, monitoring pest and disease, improving crop health, and helping create long-term solutions for sustainable farming practices. She also shares how finding community within Oregon agriculture and the wine industry played an important role in her career. This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt in Sheridan, Oregon on May 14, 2026.