OUR PEOPLE
(Please click photos for details)
DEVEN MORGANSTERN
BUSINESS MANAGER
Deven Morganstern
Deven Morganstern
Business Manager
Deven started as a harvest intern (that’s pretty typical around here) but he also has a business background. For a couple of years he worked for us intermittently, eventually coming on permanently in January of 2014. While his title is Business Manager, his job is really so much more than that – working with distributors, organizing the logistics of trucks and warehousing, and paying the bills too. Occasionally he dabbles in the cellar, as well. Deven also happens to be the most dapper of the men on our staff, we all enjoy his colorful wardrobe. Recently he launched his own winemaking project aptly called Joyful Noise.
What’s your favorite part of your job here?
I enjoy taking all the moving parts and fitting them into the bigger picture. It’s an ever-changing puzzle and
an exciting challenge every day. The wine and food are pretty nice too.
What’s your least favorite part of your job?
I have a love/hate relationship with bottling day. It is exciting to get everything we have been crafting
through the last process and into the bottle to share, but it’s also so many bottles to fill!
What’s you favorite thing about the R. Stuart Crew?
It’s easy to feel like part of the family around here and with our crew, every day is fun.
Why wine?
Because every year you get a new chance to make something perfect and share a piece of this place we love
with friends and family around the world.
What’s your favorite wine that we make?
Rosé d’Or, easy question. Next.
What do you do in your spare time?
I love to cook for friends, travel and explore new places, learn how things are made, try different wines and golf (not that I’m good at it but that hasn’t stopped me yet).
Words to live by:
“I could not live without Champagne. In victory I deserve it. In defeat I need it. ” -Winston Churchill 1946
“And for breakfast, I may take it with grapefruit juice.” – Deven Morganstern 2017
CASEE CLARK
DIRECT SALES MANAGER
Casee Clark
Casee Clark
Direct Sales Manager – AKA Director of Customer Happiness
Casee came to us as a college senior (Linfield, of course) working part time in the Wine Bar. Eventually she graduated to full-time and then Wine Bar Manager. Casee’s eagerness to learn (she has pursued much wine education even away from our winery and has passed her Level 2 WSET) can-do attitude and great rapport with people ultimately led us to create her current position. In true R. Stuart fashion, Casee has increasingly become active with several non-profit organizations in the community. Just call her the “Mayor of McMinnville.”
What’s your favorite part of your job here?
My days are never the same. I always have to be thinking on my toes and problem solve. I get to interact with some of the most interesting people from all over the world and talk about why I love Oregon and why I love wine.
What’s your least favorite part of your job?
Sometimes things can get overwhelming. I think I try to prepare myself as much as I can, but there are always things that slip through the cracks.
What’s you favorite thing about the R. Stuart Crew?
I love that our team can spend time with each other outside of work. It’s a special bond when you choose to spend time together when you don’t have to. I think it helps me appreciate the differences and similarities we all have and why we work well together. And we have a hashtag, so that’s pretty cool too. #rstucrew
Why wine?
Wine not!? Wine was never part of my plan when I was growing up, but it has become such a big part of my life. I got a job in the Wine Bar at R. Stuart part-time while I was finishing college and I fell in love with the culture and the education that comes with the wine industry in Oregon.
What’s your favorite wine that we make?
My favorite is still the 2008 Ana Single Vineyard Pinot Noir.
What do you do in your spare time?
I will take any chance to play outside. Hiking, camping, biking, BBQs with friends. Surprise, surprise, I love
to drink wine on my days off too. Wine tasting and exploring the valley will always be one of my favorite
things to do.
Words to live by:
“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you
made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
SARAH ALLEN
WINE BAR MANAGER
Sarah Allen
Sarah Allen
Wine Bar Manager
Sarah was born and raised right here in McMinnville. When we were looking for the right person to join our Wine Bar crew, Casee came to Maria and said “there’s a woman I’ve known for a while who works at Starbucks. I think she’d be perfect.” When Maria met her, she couldn’t have agreed more. Sarah’s warm and gracious personality, and her enthusiasm for sharing our wines and our story, make her the perfect person to lead the Wine Bar.
What’s your favorite part of your job here?
Seeing and meeting people from all over the world. It makes me very proud as a local to watch how much we’ve grown as a community. I also love providing an amazing experience for each customer and really letting my roots show in sending people to restaurants that have been part of our community for years.
What’s your least favorite part of the job?
The learning curve is definitely steep. I didn’t have any wine knowledge prior to this job and it’s been tough but extremely interesting and fun learning the different parts that go into wine making.
What’s your favorite thing about the R. Stuart Crew?
I love that by the time I attended my first Harvest Dinner, which was about a month into my R. Stuart career, I already felt like family. The warmth and hospitality the Stuarts and our crew bring to the table is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. It’s very comforting knowing that my bosses and crew are also my second family.
Why wine?
I was in coffee for seven years and absolutely loved the connections I built with our customers. When it came time to decide whether I wanted to continue moving up or not, I decided a change was needed. So, I ran into Casee Clark and within a month I had a job at R. Stuart. I love that the information is always changing and there’s always something new to read about, I also love learning from our customers and hearing about their experiences around the world.
What’s your favorite wine that we make?
No question about it, Menefee Pinot Noir.
What do you do in your spare time?
I love reading and writing, yoga has also become a big part of my life. Most of all I love spending time with my family. I have two nieces and a nephew and would spend all of my time with them if I could!
Words to live by:
“Be like the flower that gives its fragrance to even the hand that crushed it.” – Imam Ali
EMILIE McKINNY
ASSISTANT WINEMAKER
Emelie McKinny
Emilie McKinny
Assistant Winemaker
With a degree in Wine and Viticulture from Cal Poly, Emilie set out on her new career – Adventures in Winemaking. After traveling and working several harvests in Australia, New Zealand and Oregon, Emilie joined the R. Stuart team in the end of 2018. Along with her winemaking experience, she brings lots of enthusiasm and laughs to our cellar and we’re very happy to have her!
What’s your favorite part of your job here?
I enjoy that Rob and I can bounce ideas off of each other, we look at our days from our different perspectives and then agree upon a plan. I think Rob’s pretty pretty cool to allow me to handle the practical aspects in the winery the way I like; save a few exceptions of course. Flag & Wire coffee in the break room is a close second though.
What is your least favorite part of your job?
It seems like there are never enough hours in the day. Learning how to navigate a new space and manage my time appropriately has been one of my biggest hurtles thus far.
What’s your favorite thing about the R. Stuart Crew?
Of all the winery teams I have been a part of, I have never met a crew that so quickly felt like family. Across the board, the #RStuCrew stops at nothing. If a job needs to be done, even if its in someone else’s department, they all come running to the aid. Its an amazing team to have backing you up.
Why Wine?
Originally it was an accident, but then it turned out to be a great fit. It’s an expression of place and time, there is a story in every wine that is just waiting to be heard, or tasted. It’s a riddle when its young, but a poem in its antiquity. I like that I have to listen to what wines are trying to tell me and crack the secret code to making a beautiful bottle. It’s a fun game we play in the cellar.
What’s your favorite wine we make?
Anything with bubbles!
What do you do in your spare time?
I enjoy spending time outdoors when season permits, – hiking, mushroom hunting and playing on the beach. I am almost always hungry, so cooking is also a major past time in my life. My specialty is Indian food!
Words to Live By:
“It’s only an Island if you look at it from the water” -Jaws
KAREN ANGUS
COMPLIANCE AND OFFICE MANAGER
Karen Angus
Karen Angus
Compliance and Office Manager
Karen came to us years ago on the recommendation of a good friend. She was recently retired from a long
career in the Federal Prison System (ask her about her Tupac story!) and was looking for something to do to
fill her days. Karen’s expertise in navigating bureaucracies is indispensable, as is her vigilance in following
the weather all across the country to know when it’s safe to ship your package of wine to the Midwest or the
East Coast. But the thing we admire most about Karen (and her family) is their devotion to fostering kids in
need. For years they’ve taken in foster kids, attending to their needs and bringing them into their stable and
loving home. Our deepest respect and gratitude go to the whole Angus family.
What’s your favorite part of your job here?
I love the ability to be me and to be part of something bigger than me. I love the autonomy of my daily duties, but I also get to be part of the process, and that is very rewarding. Best post-retirement job I could ever have!
What’s your least favorite part of your job?
The dishes
What’s you favorite thing about the R. Stuart Crew?
Nothing is more fun than working with a bunch of foodies and wine experts! The inter-generational mix of this group is so rewarding. The younger crowd keep me on my toes, are always full of good ideas, and a blast to work with.
Why wine?
I spent a lot of time playing cards and jacks under the tanks at various wineries in the St. Helena area growing up. This is such an expanding field in our area, it seemed like the best train to be on. I had lived in McMinnville for 20 years and knew very little about the industry. When I retired from my career, the opportunity to learn more, try more, experience more of my local community and the contributions the wine industry has made as been so rewarding. Plus, the people are really great!
What’s your favorite wine that we make?
Daffodil Hill Pinot Noir, hands down.
What do you do in your spare time?
Scrapbook, paper craft, travel, volunteer, try to parent a houseful of kids – not all of them mine.
Words to live by:
To move, to breath, to fly, to float,
To gain all while you give,
To roam the roads of lands remote,
To travel is to live
– Hans Christian Andersen
BEN FRUM
CELLAR MASTER
Ben Frum
Ben Frum
Cellar Master
Ben is a McMinnville native and is known by many all around town. He is great at fixing things and, in spite
of his gruff exterior, has very generous heart. He has given many hours to projects he cares about, like
hospice and also to building sets and doing lighting for our local community theater. Before coming to R.
Stuart he worked occasionally in the cellar at Panther Creek. When we started the winery, Rob was the only
one working in our cellar (not to mention running the business!) A few months in, we were scheduled to go
on a trip to the Midwest for a reunion of Maria’s family. Rob said he couldn’t possibly get away and leave
the cellar unattended. Maria said “Why don’t you hire Ben Frum to look after things while we’re gone?” And
the rest, as they say, is history.
