Ben Casteel

Coming Up

Formal study at the University of Oregon gives way, for Ben Casteel, to cellar and vineyard work in Burgundy, France: first as a winery worker at Burgundy winery in Burgundy, France, then as a vineyard worker at Burgundy vineyard in Burgundy, France. Those roles keep the work close to hand. Fruit moves, cellar routines repeat, and the vineyard asks for patience on a physical schedule. Back in Oregon, Rex Hill Vineyards adds another layer: Warehouse Manager, then Assistant Winemaker. By the time Ben Casteel becomes Head Winemaker of Bethel Heights Vineyard (since 2007), the work has already been built from logistics, field labor, and cellar discipline.

Where They Are Now

Since 2007, Casteel has been co-owner and director of Bethel Heights Vineyard in Salem. In wine, those titles mean day-to-day responsibility as much as ownership. They tie the winemaker to the estate over time, with decisions shaped by what the vineyard already is and by what it can still become. In his case, co-ownership and direction read as part of the same job: protect the source, guide the work, and keep the wines tied to where they come from. That stewardship shows up most plainly in the named wines. The High Wire Chardonnay, from Bethel Heights Vineyard in Salem, is a 100% own-rooted Wente clone Chardonnay planted in 1977 and described as a “100 Perfection” Chardonnay. Those details matter because they locate the wine in vine material, planting age, and site rather than in abstraction. The bottle carries its own record. The earlier releases are equally direct about method. Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2008 was formerly the Eola-Amity Cuvée, so the label change still leaves the wine’s lineage visible. Chardonnay Eola-Amity Hills 2008 was barrel-fermented, full-malolactic, and saw 20 percent new oak, a set of choices that points to texture and structure without overstatement. Pinot Gris Oregon 2009 stayed in stainless and skipped malolactic fermentation, keeping the wine fresh and appley by design. In each case, the technical language does the talking.

Signature

Ben’s signature wines include The High Wire Chardonnay, Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2008, Chardonnay Eola-Amity Hills 2008, and Pinot Gris Oregon 2009. Read together, they show a winemaker working across styles with a consistent bias toward clarity: Chardonnay linked to heritage vines and measured oak, Pinot Noir carrying an earlier identity while staying grounded in place, and Pinot Gris kept bright through stainless steel and no malolactic fermentation.

In Their Words “I think the winemaker is essentially just stewardship of what's grown.” “I bring a more analytical approach.”

Honors

The clearest recognition around Casteel’s work sits in those named wines and their precise identities: a 2023 Chardonnay tied to own-rooted Wente clone vines planted in 1977; a 2008 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir with its earlier Eola-Amity Cuvée identity; a barrel-fermented 2008 Chardonnay shaped by full malolactic fermentation and 20 percent new oak; and a 2009 Pinot Gris defined by stainless steel and the choice to avoid malolactic fermentation. For a winemaker who describes the job as stewardship, the distinction is in leaving the wine readable. The achievement is not in covering up origin, but in keeping vineyard, cellar, and season clear in the finished bottle.