Winemaker Insider - Dave Specter of Bells Up Winery in Oregon

Celebrate National Pinot Noir Day with our Big Blend Radio "Winemaker Insider" Conversation with Dave Specter, who along with his wife Sara, owns and runs Bells Up Winery in Willamette Valley, Oregon. 

After more than a decade of success as a corporate tax attorney in Cincinnati, Ohio, Dave was emotionally and physically spent. Sara, a freelance marketing consultant and writer, convinced him to leave the profession and they turned the hobby that brought him joy—winemaking—into his new career. The pair had fallen in love with Newberg and Oregon’s Willamette Valley while on vacation in 2008, subsequently moving there in 2012 and establishing Bells Up Winery in 2013. The first wines were released Memorial Day 2015, coinciding with the opening of the estate winery/tasting room. The on-site production facility was built and equipped in time for 2019 harvest.

Bells Up is a micro-boutique winery that composes handcrafted, classically styled Pinot Noir, Rosé, Pinot Blanc, Seyval Blanc, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon with grapes sourced exclusively from its estate, and from micro-sites in the Willamette Valley and Eastern Oregon. The winery makes ~600 cases annually. More: https://bellsupwinery.com/