Jenny Burger: Oral History Interview

This interview is with Jenny Burger of Yamhill Valley Vineyards. In this interview, Jenny discusses her journey of taking over as a second generation for the company. Jenny talks about how Yamhill Valley Vineyards has always been at least a little part of her life. Her parents started the company before she was born, and she recalls spending weekends and summers on the vineyard without any real idea of the elaborate production her parents were heading. After attending college and taking a few jobs involving parks, Jenny decided to take an offer to work a harvest in New Zealand. From there, she discovered that she really did like how multifaceted and universal the wine industry is.Jenny discusses her transition into the family business. Her father had told her that he wasn’t going to give her a full-time position if there wasn’t a true role to fill and if she wasn’t ready for it. Eventually, the family decided the business needed assistance in the communication and organization, so in January of 2014, Jenny took on the role of office manager. From there, Jenny worked on developing to take over the operation.Later in the interview, Jenny talks about the future for the wine industry and her role as the general manager. Jenny believes the Oregon wine industry must level-out the over-supply and under-demand of wine production. As for herself, she plains to integrate herself more within the industry and build on the community aspect of wine.This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Yamhill Valley Vineyards  in McMinnville on June 24, 2026.