This interview is with Alberto Alcazar of Lanphere Cellars. In this interview, Alberto discusses joining the Oregon wine industry in the late 90s and how it has changed over time.
Alberto talks about moving to Oregon in 1993 and starting in the industry. Alberto moved from California to Oregon in search for good education for his family. During this time, Alberto discovered his loved of Oregon Pinot Noir and took the opportunity to be on the bottling line for Ken Wright in 1997. From there, Alberto was hired full-time and continued working at Ken Wright for the next 20 years. In 1998, Alberto started taking winemaking and vineyard management courses at Chemeketa during the pioneer phase of the program. Alberto notes that he had to learn English alongside the course material.
Alberto discusses working with Ken Wright and his development in the cellar. For a long time, Alberto was in the role of cellar master as Ken’s right-hand. Alberto was heavily involved in the winemaking and learned to trust the taste of the grapes. Alberto explains his enjoyment of seeing the transformation from vines to glass. While working at Ken Wright, Alberto helped create the Armonéa Wines label in 2008. After almost a decade, Alberto purchased the Armonéa inventory in 2017. In 2018, Alberto joined forced with Bob Lanphere Jr. as the vineyard manager and winemaker of Lanphere Cellars.
Later in the interview, Alberto talks about the future at Lanphere and what wine means to him. Alberto believes that it is more important to increase the quality of wine rather than making more of it. Alberto plans to continuously increase the quality of the wines he makes. Alberto loves when his wines are making people happy. To Alberto, wine is about friends and family.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Lanphere Cellars in Aurora on August 25, 2026.
What is The Oregon Wine History Archive Podcast?
The Oregon Wine History Archive at Linfield University was created to collect, preserve, share, and continue the narrative of Oregon wine.
The growth of the Oregon wine industry extends from the farmers and winemakers to the marketers, scientists, innovators, and dreamers of the enterprise — all of whom are vital to the industry’s success. It is our aim to link the past, present, and future of the industry in hopes of sharing the story of Oregon wine.
Some oral history interviews are conducted on site and may contain background noise from nature, winery, or tasting room operations.