About Us

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It was April 2013, and Andy was standing on a hillside in the Temecula Valley — a quick detour after a wedding of dear friends — looking over a scene that felt unmistakably Tuscan. "This," he said to Meghan, "is the type of agriculture I can get behind."

They didn’t grow up in farming families. Andy and Meghan met while completing graduate degree programs in Washington, D.C. A city person at heart, Andy’s studies in Italy plus his travels in Europe had kindled a lifelong love of delicious food, cooking from scratch, and fine wine. Meghan’s work in international agricultural development had brought her to countries where the projects farmers were tackling inspired her to be on the other side of the desk. She had been interested in starting an agricultural endeavor for some years, but was limited to backyard gardening and beekeeping. As they visited wineries, explored, and talked to people in the Temecula Valley, they developed an undeniable vision: They would move west and plant a vineyard. They began work on a 10-year plan.

It was only a few years later when the arrival of their first child turned the 10-year plan into a 4-year plan. Meanwhile, Meghan’s ailing grandfather’s refrain to “enjoy life” – a bold statement from a man who had identified “hard work” as the secret to life – lit an existential flame that encouraged them to take the plunge. They moved from D.C. to Oregon with their 9-month-old son. Meghan enrolled in the viticulture management program at Chemeketa Community College, and the search for the right piece of winegrowing land began.

Without the support of Andy's father and step-mother, Geoff and Janny Gothro, that patch of land and the path to founding St. Merry Vineyard would have looked drastically different. Given Geoff's business background, they encouraged Andy and Meghan to closely consider the scale of the operation. Their counsel and support have been patient and enduring, given in ways that only parents can. In 2018, with another baby in tow and in partnership with Geoff and Janny, Andy and Meghan settled on a beautiful 50-acre patch of rolling hayfields and forest just outside Dallas, Oregon. In 2020, the first vines went into the ground. 

Over the next four years of planting, St. Merry Vineyard began to take shape into the nearly 16-acre regenerative vineyard it is today. Thinking back on Meghan’s grandfather’s statement, he wasn't wrong about hard work. But we think he'd be pleased to see how much we're enjoying it too.