Bethel Heights Vineyard

Bethel Heights Vineyard traces its site to 1909, when the property was established as the Bethel Heights Walnut Groves; 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, then unrecognized as part of any distinct wine region. Pat's father, Robert Dudley, and her sister, Barbara Dudley, were investors and directors from the very beginning; Barbara Dudley holds the title of co-founder, co-owner, and director on the estate's own team page, and named the estate's Justice Vineyard in 1999. For the first two decades, Ted managed the vineyard and Terry made the wine, while Pat and Marilyn shared marketing and business management. Bethel Heights produced its first commercial vintage in 1984, with a winery grand opening in 1985. The Eola-Amity Hills, where the estate sits, was not recognized as its own federally designated sub-AVA of the Willamette Valley until 2006.

• Site 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 credited as co-founder on the estate's own site
• First commercial vintage 1984; winery grand opening 1985

Bethel Heights farms three adjoining estate vineyards on 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 including 24.3 acres of own-rooted vines. Justice Vineyard, established in 1999 on 24.4 planted acres at 400 to 480 feet, sits on marine-sediment soil where ancient sea floor lies close to the surface. Lewman Vineyard, established in 1992 on 6.4 planted acres of volcanic soil at 460 to 525 feet, was added to the Bethel Heights estate in 2020. Taken together, the estate has grown from its original 50 acres to about 80 acres. The very first vines, planted between 1977 and 1979 before phylloxera reached 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 progressively replanted 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 since 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 progressively replanted since 2019 after phylloxera

Bethel Heights Vineyard, Justice Vineyard, and Lewman Vineyard are all certified organic. The estate has been LIVE Certified since 1997; Ted Casteel was among the founders of LIVE (Low Input Viticulture and Enology), Oregon's sustainable-viticulture certification program, and Bethel Heights released its first LIVE-certified wine in 1999. Bethel Heights was also among the first vineyards certified Salmon Safe, in 1997. The estate has farmed without herbicides since 2009, without tilling the soil since 2012, and without synthetic inputs since 2019. Solar panels installed in 2010 supply about half the power used across the winery and vineyard. In 2017, Bethel Heights was a founding member of the Willamette Valley Oak Accord, a group of private landowners committed to protecting 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 the LIVE program
• Salmon Safe certified since 1997
• Solar panels since 2010; founding member of the Willamette Valley Oak Accord in 2017

Ben Casteel, the older son of co-founders Terry Casteel and Marilyn Webb, became the estate's second-generation Winemaker in January 2005 after his father called him to discuss succession; Ben had spent five years working his way up from cellar assistant to Assistant Winemaker at Rex Hill under Lynn Penner-Ash, following a season working the 1999 harvest at Domaine de Perdrix in Burgundy. Ben's cousin Mimi Casteel, daughter of co-founders Ted Casteel and Pat Dudley, returned to Bethel Heights in 2005 as a second-generation winegrower and co-owner, then left in 2016 to found her own Hope Well Wine, becoming an internationally known consultant on regenerative agriculture. In 2025, when Ted Casteel retired as Vineyard Manager, Mimi rejoined Bethel Heights as Viticulturist while continuing to run Hope Well. Pat Dudley serves as President and General Manager; she left an academic career in medieval history to help build the estate and later served as Executive Director of the International Pinot Noir Celebration (1992-1996) and a founder of Oregon Pinot Camp. Founding winemaker Terry Casteel (d. 2023) made Bethel Heights's wine from the first 1984 vintage until 2005, when he passed winemaking to Ben.

• Ben Casteel: second-generation 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 since the founding
• Founding winemaker Terry Casteel (d. 2023) made the estate's wine from 1984 to 2005

Bethel Heights produces sixteen different bottlings of estate-grown Pinot Noir and Chardonnay each year, plus a Pinot Noir Rosé and two Pinot Blanc bottlings. Estate Pinot Noir and Estate Chardonnay, made since the first 1984 vintage, are the estate's broadest statement of Bethel Heights terroir. Casteel Pinot Noir and Casteel Chardonnay are barrel selections that carry the family name rather than a place name, the only Bethel Heights wines to do so. Aeolian Pinot Noir comes from the estate's newer-generation vines. 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. Since 2014, a Beyond the Blocks series (The Shallows, The Cauldron, The Currents, and The Steep Slope Pinot Noirs, and The High Wire Chardonnay) has drawn on cross-vineyard geologic and topographic patterns rather than fixed block lines; The High Wire Chardonnay is made from 100% own-rooted Wente-clone Chardonnay planted in 1977, per Decanter's tasting notes. Wine press coverage has been strong: Decanter awarded the 2023 High Wire Chardonnay a rare 100-point score, and the 2022 Pinot Noir Estate placed No. 47 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 list, at a listed production of 4,548 cases.

• Estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay made since the first 1984 vintage
• Casteel Pinot Noir and Casteel Chardonnay: barrel selections carrying the family name, the only wines that do so
• 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; 2023 High Wire Chardonnay scored 100 points by Decanter

Bethel Heights Vineyard is located 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., with reservations recommended and walk-ins welcome; both indoor and patio tastings are offered at $35 per person, waived with a two-bottle purchase, for flights lasting about 90 minutes. Per the Eola-Amity Hills Winegrowers Association, 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, per the Eola-Amity Hills Winegrowers Association

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 2026-09-14. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.