We'd like to introduce you to Jesus Guillen. We met Jesus for the first time in April 2009 during our tour of Dundee Hills when we stopped in at White Rose Wines. Jesus is a very personable young man who has the true spirit of following ones passion and reaching for the American dream. 

In 1999, Jesus decided to study Computer Science while living in Mexico. This was a way for him to learn a skill as well as the English language. In 2001, Jesus traveled to Oregon to visit his father who was working in the vineyards at renowned Patricia Green Cellars. Enjoying his visit and working side by side with his father, Jesus realized immediately that his future was not in Computer Science, but it was in wine. The wine bug bit him so to speak.  Jesus realized that he did not have enough money to go to school to learn about wine, so he latched on to as many books as he could get regarding the industry, and studied on his own. His ultimate dream was not only to make wine for a fine winery, but he wanted to make wine under his own label.

It wasn't long before Greg Sanders, owner of White Rose Winery, saw the talent of Jesus and he asked him to make wine for White Rose. This was a huge step for Jesus and a big undertaking. Jesus jumped in to this role and never looked back. Jesus makes some incredible wines for White Rose. Some of our favorites were the Dragon's Bluff Maresh Vineyard, which is made from old vines and sells for $60 a bottle, and the White Rose Estate 2006, which sells for $75.

Jesus' talent did not stop at White Rose. In 2006, Jesus decided to take up a new challenge. During 2006 many vines from nearby Vista Hills were considered ruined, by Voles and a very hot summer. Several tons of fruit were going to be thrown away. Being the optimist that Jesus is, he inquired about this fruit and Vista Hills gave him the "ruined fruit" to do what he wanted with it. Jesus used his knowledge, his skill and his determination and turned this fruit into some great wine. It not only is great, but it is amazing! The owners of Vista Hills tasted this wine, and they were so impressed with what he did with the "ruined fruit," that they bought it back from Jesus and it was labeled "2006 Survivor Reserve Pinot Noir-New Release."  This wine may not sound familiar to you, but it was very familiar to us. We had just been to Vista Hills for a tasting. The 2006 Survivor, was our absolute favorite of all their Estate Pinot Noir. It was superb! We thought about selecting it as our featured red wine for July, but at $60 a bottle, we decided that it wasn't doable. This particular wine will never be available again. The "ruined fruit/vines" were pulled up and destroyed, so it would not effect the other vines in the vineyard.  This is truly a once in a lifetime type wine. (We have a limited number of bottles for sale for our wine club members. There is no more available through Vista Hills as of this date. Please call or e-mail for more info). It should also be noted that Vista Hills has given Jesus full credit for making this fine wine and he only made 45 cases, all of which are gone. We are glad that we managed to pick up some during our visit.

Jesus is now on his way to becoming an extraordinary winemaker. At the White Rose Tasting room, Jesus was very excited to have us taste his first release of Pinot Noir under his own label, called "Dreamcatcher." We were immediately blown away by the quality of this wine. Jesus was so appreciative of our interest in his new release, that he took us back to the barrel room where his 2008 vintage is being stored. This new release will be available around December 2009. Although this wine is not ready, it already has a nice quality and I can only imagine how good the finished product will be. We have already reserved several bottles of this upcoming wine, which he will only make 45 cases of. We hope you enjoy your bottle of Dreamcatcher, 2007 Pinot Noir. We truly feel that we have met an amazing young winemaker who has the true American spirit and he is fulfilling his "American Dream."  I think "Dreamcatcher" is the perfect wine label for this young winemaker with an incredible dream. Our hat also goes off to Greg Sanders, who saw this young winemaker's talent and has given him every opportunity to reach for his dream.