About Earl Jones, Owner and General Manager of Abacela Vineyards and WineryIt started with a chance encounter – a bottle of Pouilley-Fuissé – and resulted in founding the first award winning Spanish varietal winery in America. As a research physician-immunologist, Earl put his research skills to work and after three years landed in the oak savannahs of Southern Oregon’s Umpqua Valley. The vineyards and winery were established in 1994/1995 and by 1998, self-taught winemaker Earl produced America’s first internationally acclaimed tempranillo wine. Tempranillo’s success led to further trials of old world wine, and Albariño and other novel wines have joined the offering.
About Hilda Jones, Vice President of Abacela Vineyards and Winery
While Earl’s dream was to make great wine, Hilda’s was to live on a farm. She left a career in medical technology to help Earl follow the dream that became Abacela Winery. Early years found Hilda working every job in the vineyard and winery, including managing the tasting room. When Hilda and Earl decided to build a new tasting room in 2010, “It was our goal to make each guest’s visit an experiential one.”
Both Earl and Hilda are active in the Southern Oregon Winery Association, the Oregon Wine Board, and other wine trade associations.