Page 85 - SOUTHERN OREGON MAGAZINE FALL 2019

tasting room. While still in the Bay area, they
had hired Naomi Fuerte, a Berkeley student,
as nanny to their daughters, and she made the
move with them. The girls have since left home, SILHOUETTE
but Naomi stayed on—an honorary daughter of
27 years. She works in the winery, in the field, JUICY COUTURE
helps with events and the tasting room, doing
whatever needs doing. You never know where LA EYEWORKS
a job will take you. For Naomi, she gained a
career and a family. COACH

TERRI DELFINO, DELFINO VINEYARDS KATE SPADE

Thinking about future retirement, Terri and Jim MAUI JIM
Delfino moved from the Bay area in 2000 and
purchased a 160-acre former cattle ranch. They SMITH
later decided to plant and sell grapes, eventu- OAKLEY
ally making wine and planting more grapes. Jim
had farming in his lineage, Terri a background in
sales and event planning. When asked what she Eye Exams by Dr. Garry Kappel, OD FCOVD
does, she replied humbly, “I do everything—
sales, marketing, run the onsite bed and break-
fast, plan and run events including our annual CONTACT LENSES | GLASSES | SUNGLASSES
Celtic Fest. It’s amazing” she adds, “how many 530 Crater Lake Avenue
women are involved in the wine business.” Medford
541 774-3937
She’s been both a volunteer and paid employee www.lassmans.com
for Umpqua Valley Winegrowers. As to Delfino
Vineyards, she loves it all—the hard work, the
challenges, the rewards, the people she meets,
the long-term wine club members. “It would be
really hard to quit this.” And she has no inten-
tion of doing so!

JOLEE WALLACE, DEL RIO VINEYARDS

In California, Rob Wallace grew rice and
tomatoes, and Jolee was an elementary school
teacher. They moved to Oregon in 2000 to part-
ner in growing grapes. Jolee planned on a year
before returning to teaching. The closest she’s
come to that plan is sitting on the Central Point
School Board. When they reached the point of
selling small lots to 36 wineries, they decided to
build their own winery.

What does she do? “What haven’t I done?
Probably everything but make wine.” She’s been
part of every aspect, hands-on and manage-
ment. Today she works with a team that does
office work, handles legal compliance, manages
the wine club, plans and helps with events, puts
distribution orders together. She assists as pur-
chasing agent, sales person, and is involved with
construction and marketing.

Does she like what she does? “Some days more
than others,” she jokes, quickly adding, “Truly,
we are lucky here. I like the people I work with and
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