John Thomas: Oral History Interview

This interview is with John Thomas of Thomas Wines. In this interview, John speaks about his early career working on the Alaska Pipeline as a geologist and starting to gain an interest in wine through his colleagues. As his interest grew, he took a trip down the West coast, stopping at vineyards and talking with winemakers. A visit with Gary Burnap in the Santa Cruz mountains left John invigorated and inspired, and he came to Oregon in search of land to grow grapes.He also talks about learning to grow grapes and make wine, and finding the style that he wanted to make. He talks about selling wine, and his notorious lack of marketing. And he talks about his interactions with some of the other interesting characters in Oregon wine history.This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Thomas Vineyard in Carlton on May 2, 2023.