Meet Our Board
Ross Allen
President
Ross Allen is a third-generation farmer raised in the San Joaquin Valley. Through his father’s appreciation for fine wine, Ross was introduced to talk about wine at a young age, and from there he learned to appreciate a great glass of wine and what is involved in producing it. Today, Ross is co-owner of Padigan (formerly 2Hawk Vineyard & Winery), alongside his wife Jen. With 35 years of commercial agricultural and vinicultural business experience, Ross is passionate about premium fruit production and bringing innovative farming techniques to the vineyard alongside tried-and-true wisdom and methodologies.
President, Rogue Valley Vintners
Former Vice President, SOWA
Former Director, Pleasant Valley Water District
Co-Owner, Vineyard Manager, Padigan (formerly 2Hawk Vineyard & Winery
Ashley Cates
Vice President
Ashley moved to Oregon in 2002 to plant and launch her family winery, Agate Ridge Vineyard. After graduating from University of Oregon in 2010, she worked in the wine industry in Spain, New Zealand and Oregon. She earned a Guild of Sommeliers pin in 2016, her Oregon Tourism Professional Gold Certification in 2018; and is a 2020 graduate of the Oregon Tourism Leadership Academy. Ashley feels immense pride and passion for the Rogue Valley and currently serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for Travel Medford and The Chamber of Medford & Jackson County. Ashley and her husband also own Cates Consulting, LLC where they consult on viticulture, enology, marketing & business.
Vice President, Rogue Valley Vintners
Chief Marketing Officer, Travel Medford and The Chamber of Medford & Jackson County
Owner, Cates Consulting, LLC
Arts Comissioner, City of Medford
Former President, Upper Rogue Wine Trail
Chad Day
Treasurer
Chad, a fourth generation Southern Oregonian, moved his young family back to Medford for harvest of 2012 in order to take over management of RoxyAnn from his father. Chad’s background in Construction Management and his MBA from Seattle University give him a unique perspective to the winery industry.
Owner, RoxyAnn Winery
Vice President, Bear Creek Wine Trail
Treasurer, Southern Oregon Wineries Association
Treasurer, Rogue Valley Vintners
Craig Camp
Board Member
Craig Camp is general manager of Troon Vineyard. He came to the Applegate Valley to work in a region on the cutting edge of natural winemaking and is passionate about Demeter Biodynamic® and Regenerative Organic Certified® winegrowing and winemaking. He has more than three decades of experience in every facet of the wine industry, from importing and distribution to viticulture and winemaking. His career spans Italy, Napa Valley, Willamette Valley and the Applegate Valley. He is especially proud that in 2023, Troon Vineyard became the world’s fourth Regenerative Organic Gold Certified® farm. In addition to the Rogue Valley Vintners Board, he is president of the national Rhône Rangers organization, president of the Applegate Valley Vintners Association, and is on the executive committee of the Oregon Winegrower’s Association.
Vice-president, Board of Directors, Rhone Rangers
President, Applegate Valley Vintners Association
Board Member, Oregon Winegrowers Association
Katharine Cato
Board Member
Katharine grew up in New Hampshire with a love for the outdoors. After earning her Bachelor’s degree at the University of NH, she moved to Oregon to ski the Pacific Northwest. Her professional path has included sales, marketing, consulting and media relations with over 20 years in the tourism industry. She has been with the Ashland Chamber of Commerce for 16 years, serving as the Director of Travel Ashland, the tourism branch of the organization. With tourism being a key economic driver to Ashland’s economy, she has a true passion for promoting the spectrum of year-round offerings in Ashland and Southern Oregon. She lives in Ashland with her husband, Ray and their daughter, Grace.
Member, Rogue Valley Vintners Marketing Committee
Director, Travel Ashland
Former President, Travel Southern Oregon Board
President, Oregon Destination Association Board
Brian Gruber
Board Member
Brian Gruber began working with Quady North in 2009 and co-founded Barrel 42 Custom Winecraft with Herb Quady in 2014. Prior to Barrel 42, Brian spent five years at Troon Vineyard, filling numerous roles including vineyard management, winemaking, production, and general management. Brian came to Troon from Capital One, where he had an 11-year career as an executive in the Human Resources, Finance and Information Technology fields. Brian also spent five years in the wine industry in Virginia, creating and managing Walnut Grove Vineyards.
Associate Winemaker, Partner, Quady North
Darius Price
Board Member
Darius helped build sales for Owen Roe in Portland, OR before moving back to Southern Oregon in 2013 with his young family to begin working at Quady North. After expanding Quady North’s local wholesale presence, he moved into a winery position as Production Manager in 2022. He has a passion for alcoholic beverages of all types, constantly seeking to taste, describe and understand the wide world of wine, beer, and spirits (especially whiskey). In his free time, he enjoys exploring the outdoors, in the kitchen, and in books.
Production & Wine Club Manager, Barrel 42 | Quady North
Debbie Schultz
Board Member
Debbie and her husband Greg founded Schultz Wines in 2010, and Glory Oaks Vineyard in 2014. They co-manage their farming and tasting room operations. Debbie is an Oklahoma native and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. Her professional background is in mortgage underwriting and she’s a certified Master Gardener. She’s had a life-long interest in botany and enjoys the vineyard management piece of the wine business. Her hobbies include running, hiking, traveling, and of course, wine.
Co-owner, Schultz Glory Oaks Vineyard & Farm
Treasurer, Applegate Valley Vintners Association
Secretary, Oregon Tempranillo Alliance
Eric Weisinger
Board Member
Eric Weisinger grew up in the Rogue Valley wine business. From helping to plant the first vines on the property in 1978 to taking over winemaking from his father John in 1998, Eric has had a hand in everything here at the winery. Wanting to expand his experience and winemaking perspective, from 2007 to 2015 Eric split his time between Oregon and the Marlborough region of New Zealand, where his winemaking focus was on Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Today, Eric lives year round in Oregon and is the Weisinger Family Winery General Manager and Winemaker.
Owner & Winemaker, Weisinger Family Winery
Rogue Valley Vintners Members
- Agathodaemon Wine
- Anchor Valley
- Apricity Vineyard
- Awen Winecraft
- Belle Fiore
- Cliff Creek Cellars
- Coventina Vineyards
- Cricket Hill Winery
- Crooked Barn Vineyards
- Daisy Creek Winery
- DANCIN Vineyards
- Del Rio Vineyards
- Dos Mariposas
- Dunbar Farms – Rocky Knoll
- Dwell Wines
- Eliana Wines
- Foris Vineyards Winery
- Goldback Wines
- Grizzly Peak Winery
- Hummingbird Estate
- Irvine & Roberts Vineyards
- Kriselle Cellars
- Long Walk Vineyard
- Maison Jussiaume
- Naumes Family Vineyards
- Padigan
- Peter William Vineyard
- Plaisance Ranch
- Quady North Winery
- Rellik Winery
- Red Lily Vineyards
- RoxyAnn Winery
- Ryan Rose Wine
- Schmidt Family Vineyards
- Schultz Glory Oaks Vineyard
- StoneRiver Vineyards
- Somar Family Vineyards
- Sound & Vision Wine Co.
- The Punch House
- Trium Wines
- Troon Vineyards
- Valley View Winery
- Weisinger Family Winery
- Wooldridge Creek Winery