Our Team
We enjoy working together as a family to make sustainable, handcrafted wines from our estate vineyard. We are farmers at heart and we enjoy being close to nature through our grapes, watching the seasons change the landscape around us and each vintage change the wines in the bottle.
LOWELL AND PAULINE FORD
OWNERS, GROWERS, AND PIONEERS
Lowell and Pauline have a long history of stewardship and grape growing. Lowell’s great-grandparents immigrated from Russia via Canada and grew wine grapes on their farm near Dallas, Oregon in the 1890s. Pauline’s father finished his family’s westward migration and bought a farm in Salem in 1943, and she has lived on that farm her entire life.
Lowell began his career as a winegrower on that very farm – planting of an acre of Müller-Thurgau in 1983. His early experiments in viticulture were made with the help of friend Earl VanVolkinburg of Vitae Springs Vineyard in South Salem. He won ribbons, including a best of show, at county state fairs for his wines.
In the 1990s, Lowell spearheaded the development of the Northwest Wine Studies Center at Chemeketa where he remains a lifetime donor.
Email Lowell: lowell@illahevineyards.com
BRAD FORD
PRESIDENT, OWNER, WINEMAKER, VINEYARD MANAGER
Brad's job at Illahe is to make delicious wines that have a unique character. He hopes that by working with his grapes year after year, he will discover the little things that ensure each one is a special, hand-crafted product. He reaches back into the history of wine for hints and ideas on how to improve. So far, this has included working with horses, trying ferments in oak, acacia, and clay, and spending hours on the pedal-powered pump moving the 1899 wine from the fermenter to barrels. Recently he built a kiln so he can make his own amphorae, earthenware pots used for fermenting and aging.
After receiving a degree in classics, Brad was a carpenter, grant writer and English instructor. In 2004, he followed his dad into the vineyard and worked his first harvest. He went on to work with Russ Raney (Evesham Wood), Michael Lundeen (Lundeen Wines) and Gabriel Jagle (Scenic Valley Farms).
Email Brad Ford: brad@illahevineyards.com
BETHANY FORD
NATIONAL SALES MANAGER, OWNER, GRAPE STOMPER
Bethany fell in love with Pinot Noir in the Santa Ynez Valley while she was earning a BFA in art in Los Angeles. Inspired by the craft and process of making wine, and having always wanted to live in the Northwest, she moved to Oregon in 2005. Bethany joined the team at Illahe Vineyards in 2009 after gaining experience with some of Oregon's top wineries. Her sales experience drove Illahe's success in transitioning from a winery with a small distribution radius to achieving recognition in 35 markets internationally. At harvest, you can find her in work boots doing lab work, punch downs, and fruit sorting – she often cooks lunch for the entire crew, as well. Bethany has a WSET Level 2 Award for Wine and Spirits. She is also the mom of two adorable little ones, Beckett and Miette, and is Brad’s wife.
Email Bethany Ford: bethany@illahevineyards.com, or call her cell: 503-415-0067
NATHAN LITKE
WINEMAKER
While working as a whitewater raft guide and ski bum in Colorado, Nathan began to think about a future in wine. So, he hopped on his bicycle and rode back home to Oregon to enroll in the Northwest Wine Studies Center at Chemeketa. Since then, he has learned his trade at various Willamette Valley producers, including A to Z, Panther Creek and Cherry Hill. A desire to explore working with big reds took him out to the Columbia Gorge and Maryhill Winery, where for two years he cut his teeth on fruit from across Washington. But he knew he would return to Oregon to make pinot at some point. He is thrilled to have the chance to work with the Fords at Illahe, crafting fun, exciting and always delicious wines.
Email Nathan: nathan@illahevineyards.
KAREN RICHARDS
DIRECT SALES MANAGER
Karen owned and operated the Nelscott Wine Shop in Lincoln City for 10 years. Sheis a wealth of knowledge and we are so lucky to have her here hosting our guests. If you would like to make an appointment or have a question about the wine club, Karen is your person!
Email Karen: karen@illahevineyards.com
JORDAN FUGEMAN
ASSISTANT WINEMAKER
We were lucky enough to stumble across Jordan via our friends from Epilogue kitchen during the 2020 pandemic and asked him is he would like to work harvest with us. Hailing from Delaware and finding his way to Oregon, Brewing had always been Jordan’s thing (and still is), so he came to us with a lot of practical production knowledge. He can run any press and fix just about everything. He’s also a great canoe partner on the river.
Email Jordan: jordan@illahevineyards.com
GABRIEL GONZOLEZ
VINEYARD FOREMAN
Gabriel was by Lowell’s side planting this vineyard from the very beginning in 2000. We are very lucky to have Gabriel here with us making sure we have people to prune and pick. We wouldn’t be here without him.
VERONICA DURAN
WAREHOUSE MANAGER
Veronica’s also been with us since day one. She organizes the vineyard crew during picking and pruning seasons. She also makes sure every single label is on the bottle correctly and manages all distribution orders going out.
TED KITZMILLER
CELLAR MASTER
Email Ted: ted@illahevineyards.com
Ted grew up on a farm in the Midwest, worked in his grandfather’s orchards, lived in Europe, worked as a musician, holds an undergraduate degree in Biology, completed coursework at Northwest Wine Studies Center, and accomplished a Masters degree in spirituality. In the cellar he has a firm dedication to detail, organization, and loves working with his hands monitoring and promoting excellent wine quality, winery flow and logistics, and being the onsite woodworker.
KYLE BYRAM
SALES AND MARKETING COORDINATOR
Kyle came to Illahe in 2020 an a harvest intern. He hails from Charlotte North Carolina where he spent 8 years as a Sommelier and Wine Director. He decided to give the other side of winemaking a try and is now an integral part of our vineyard program and sales team.
Email Kyle: kyle@illahevineyards.com
FINNY
WINERY DOG
Finny is our Goldendoodle that loves to greet guests at the winery. One of his favorite things to do is snuggle up by tasters and wait for any picnic treats to drop.