Bethel Heights Vineyard

The Bethel Heights property was established in 1909 as the Bethel Heights Walnut Groves, and some of the original walnut trees still grow at the edges of the vineyard. In 1977, twin brothers Ted and Terry Casteel and their partners Pat Dudley and Marilyn Webb left their academic careers to clear the abandoned walnut orchard and plant a 50-acre vineyard on the property. Pat's father, Robert Dudley, and her sister, Barbara Dudley, were investors and directors from the very beginning. Barbara Dudley, a co-founder, co-owner, and director, named the estate's Justice Vineyard in 1999. For the first twenty years, Ted managed the vineyards and Terry made the wine, while Pat and Marilyn shared marketing and business management. The first commercial vintage was 1984, and the winery's grand opening followed in 1985. The Eola-Amity Hills was not officially recognized as an AVA until 2006.

• Property established 1909 as the Bethel Heights Walnut Groves
• Founded 1977 by twin brothers Ted and Terry Casteel and partners Pat Dudley and Marilyn Webb, who left academic careers to clear the abandoned walnut orchard and plant 50 acres
• Pat's father Robert Dudley and sister Barbara Dudley were investors and directors from the beginning; Barbara Dudley is a co-founder, co-owner, and director
• First commercial vintage 1984; winery grand opening 1985

Bethel Heights farms three adjoining estate vineyards in the Eola-Amity Hills. The original Bethel Heights Estate Vineyard, established in 1977, sits at 480 to 620 feet on volcanic Nekia-series soil, with 49.6 acres planted, 24.3 of them own-rooted. Justice Vineyard, established in 1999, has 24.4 planted acres at 400 to 480 feet on marine sediment, where the sandy soil of the ancient sea floor is exposed at the surface. Lewman Vineyard, established in 1992, has 6.4 planted acres of volcanic soil at 460 to 525 feet and was added to the estate in 2020. Together the estate has grown from its original 50 acres to about 80. The first vines, planted between 1977 and 1979 before phylloxera was discovered in Oregon, were own-rooted. These Legacy Blocks, including the Flat Block, Southeast Block, and West Block Pinot Noir and the High Wire Chardonnay, have been replanted incrementally since 2019 as phylloxera has taken its toll, with the Southeast Block's final vintage in 2023 and the Flat Block's final vintage in 2025. A second generation of vines, planted between 1999 and 2002, has reached full maturity.

• Bethel Heights Estate Vineyard: established 1977, 49.6 acres planted (24.3 acres own-rooted), volcanic Nekia-series soil, 480-620 ft elevation
• Justice Vineyard: established 1999, 24.4 acres planted, marine-sediment soil, 400-480 ft elevation
• Lewman Vineyard: established 1992, 6.4 acres planted (all Pinot Noir), volcanic soil, 460-525 ft elevation, added to the estate in 2020
• Original 1977-1979 own-rooted Legacy Blocks replanted incrementally since 2019 after phylloxera

Bethel Heights Vineyard, Justice Vineyard, and Lewman Vineyard are all certified organic. Bethel Heights and Justice have been LIVE Certified since 1997. Ted Casteel was one of the founders of LIVE (Low Input Viticulture and Enology), Oregon's sustainable viticulture certification program, and Bethel Heights released the first LIVE certified wine in 1999. Bethel Heights was also one of the first vineyards certified Salmon Safe, in 1997. The estate has farmed without herbicides since 2009, without tilling the soil since 2012, and without any synthetic inputs since 2019. Solar panels installed in 2010 provide about half the power for combined winery and vineyard operations. In 2017, Bethel Heights became one of the founders of the Willamette Valley Oak Accord, which brings private landowners together to protect and restore some of the last remaining oak habitat in the Willamette Valley.

• All three estate vineyards (Bethel Heights, Justice, Lewman) are certified organic
• LIVE Certified since 1997; Ted Casteel was a founder of LIVE
• One of the first vineyards certified Salmon Safe, in 1997
• Solar panels since 2010; a founder of the Willamette Valley Oak Accord in 2017

Ben Casteel, oldest son of co-founders Terry Casteel and Marilyn Webb, became Winemaker in January 2005, six months after his father called him to discuss the future of Bethel Heights after his retirement. Ben had worked the 1999 harvest at Domaine de Perdrix in Burgundy, then joined Rex Hill under Lynn Penner-Ash as cellar assistant and spent five years working his way up to Assistant Winemaker. His cousin Mimi Casteel, daughter of co-founders Ted Casteel and Pat Dudley, returned to Bethel Heights in 2005 as a second-generation winegrower and owner. She left in 2016 to found Hope Well Wine and has become an internationally respected consultant and speaker on regenerative agriculture. In 2025, when Ted Casteel retired as Vineyard Manager, Mimi rejoined Bethel Heights as Viticulturist, and she continues to farm and make wine from her own Hope Well Vineyard. Pat Dudley is President and General Manager; she left an academic career in medieval history to help build the estate, served as Executive Director of the International Pinot Noir Celebration from 1992 to 1996, and became one of the founders of Oregon Pinot Camp. Founding winemaker Terry Casteel (d. 2023) made the wine from the first commercial vintage in 1984 until 2005, when he passed winemaking to Ben.

• Ben Casteel: Winemaker since January 2005, previously at Rex Hill under Lynn Penner-Ash
• Mimi Casteel: returned 2005, left 2016 to found Hope Well Wine, rejoined as Viticulturist in 2025
• Pat Dudley: President and General Manager, one of the four founding family members
• Founding winemaker Terry Casteel (d. 2023) made the wine from 1984 to 2005

Bethel Heights makes sixteen bottlings of estate-grown Pinot Noir and Chardonnay each year, plus a Pinot Noir Rosé and two Pinot Blanc bottlings, Estate and Willamette Valley. Estate Pinot Noir and Estate Chardonnay have been made since 1984; the estate calls them its most transparent statement of Bethel Heights terroir. Casteel Pinot Noir and Casteel Chardonnay are the only wines that carry the family name rather than a place name, and the Casteel Chardonnay is a select blend from the finest barrels each vintage. Aeolian Pinot Noir comes from new-generation vines planted between 1994 and 2016. Justice Vineyard and Lewman Vineyard each have their own Pinot Noir bottling, and Justice Vineyard also has its own Chardonnay. The Legacy Blocks, own-rooted vines planted between 1977 and 1979, yield single-block Flat Block, Southeast Block, and West Block Pinot Noir. The Beyond the Blocks series, first made in 2014, includes The Shallows, The Cauldron, The Currents, and The Steep Slope Pinot Noirs and The High Wire Chardonnay; instead of following designated block lines, these wines follow layers of geologic and organic evolution and patterns of wind and sun. The High Wire is 100% own-rooted Wente-clone Chardonnay planted in 1977. Decanter scored the 2023 High Wire Chardonnay 100 points, and the 2022 Pinot Noir Estate, with 4,548 cases made, placed No. 47 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 list.

• Estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay made since 1984
• Casteel Pinot Noir and Casteel Chardonnay: the only wines carrying the family name
• Single-vineyard bottlings from Justice and Lewman; single-block Legacy Blocks Pinot Noir (Flat, Southeast, West)
• Beyond the Blocks series (Shallows, Cauldron, Currents, Steep Slope, High Wire Chardonnay) since 2014; Decanter scored the 2023 High Wire Chardonnay 100 points

Bethel Heights Vineyard is at 6060 Bethel Heights Road NW, Salem, Oregon 97304, about an hour from Portland in the Eola-Amity Hills. The tasting room is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; reservations are recommended and walk-ins are welcome. Indoor and patio tastings each cost $35 per person, waived with a two-bottle purchase, and flights last about 90 minutes. The estate produces about 13,000 cases annually.

• 6060 Bethel Heights Road NW, Salem, Oregon 97304
• Open daily 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; tastings $35 per person, waived with a two-bottle purchase
• About 13,000 cases produced annually

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.bethelheights.com/, https://www.bethelheights.com/history/, https://www.bethelheights.com/place/, https://www.bethelheights.com/people/, https://www.bethelheights.com/wines/, https://www.bethelheights.com/visit/, https://www.bethelheights.com/wine-fact-sheets/, https://www.bethelheights.com/press/. Secondary sources: Oregon Wine Board winery listing (oregonwine.org), Eola-Amity Hills Winegrowers Association producer profile and AVA history page (eolaamityhills.com), and press review excerpts (Decanter, The Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, Vinous, Jeb Dunnuck, JamesSuckling.com, International Wine Report) as republished on the estate's own press page. Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.