This interview is with Mike Osborn of Willamette Valley Vineyards. In this interview, Mike talks about starting “wine.com” and later becoming the CEO of Willamette Valley Vineyards.
Mike shares about first becoming interested in wine through hospitality. While starting up software businesses, he would often go out to restaurants with clients or employers and drink wine.
Mike talks about this interest in wine leading him to start a wine database software to help others more easily find the wines they were looking for. What began as eVineyard.com later became wine.com, and what initially was a database of about 1,500 wines has now swelled to around 40,000 wines.
Later in the interview, Mike discusses becoming the CEO of Willamette Valley Vineyards. Through innovation and adapting to the current state of the industry, he hopes to improve Oregon’s claim over national wine markets both for WVV and for all Oregon brands.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Domaine Willamette in Dayton on December 16, 2025.
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.