Patrick Spencer: Oral History Interview

This interview is with Patrick Spencer of the Natural Cork Council. In this interview, Patrick shares his journey from restaurants to wine to cork.Patrick was born and raised in Conneticut, where his parents owned a "classic American steakhouse." He was involved in the restaurant world early on, and in 2005 opened his own French restaurant in the Berkshires.In 2008, he moved to Oregon and was hired at Willamette Valley Vineyards as their Sustainability Coordinator. It was during a trip to Portugal that he became fascinated with cork forests and the families that farmed them.After starting a cork recycling program in the states, through which he worked with Whole Foods stores across the country, Patrick set his sights on a career focused on cork. He helped to start the nonprofit Cork Forest Alliance and was later hired by the Natural Cork Council out of California, where he still works today.This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt in the Nicholson Libray at Linfield University in McMinnville on September 24, 2025.