Queer Winemakers Shake Up the Industry

What follows is one of the many articles in the Mercury‘s 2026 Queer Issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.—eds.

Wine often feels shrouded in rigidity—the jargon, the inaccessible prices, the impossibly thin glassware that might break if you look at it wrong. That’s not even counting the preconceived notions about who’s making, pouring, and drinking it. But a growing group of queer winemakers is challenging old ideas of who wine is made by and for. They’re making wines with unusual varietals, offering bottles at accessible prices, and hosting everything from queer wine festivals to drag shows to late-night queer dance parties. When we talk about winemakers who are changing the game in Oregon, you’re bound to find queer winemakers on that list.

Hip Chicks Do Wine

Back in 1999, married couple Laurie Lewis and Renee Neely took a gamble: they decided to open the only urban winery in Portland at the time.

“We ran up all our credit cards, got a second mortgage on the house we used to own, bought a bunch of grapes, made 500 cases of wine, and found the spot we are in now,” says Lewis. “We quit our day jobs within a couple years and cashed in those 401ks.”

“When I look back now, I’m like, ‘Man, we were gutsy,’” Lewis says. But the two had always wanted to be parents, and opening in Portland seemed to be the only way to achieve their winemaking and parenting goals. “The idea 30 years ago of two lesbians deciding to move out to the country, have a kid, and expect to be accepted just wasn’t very realistic.”

Lewis says Hip Chicks Do Wine was Portland’s only urban winery for several years, and one of few queer-owned wineries in the country. Twenty-seven years later, the groundbreaking winery is going strong, releasing Pride wines every June that benefit queer-centered organizations, and hosting events that are as fun as the winery’s name suggests, like Frosé Fridays and plant bingo with drag queen Adrienne Alexander. 4520 SE 23rd, hipchicksdowine.com, @hipchicksdowine

Ram Cellars

When Vivianne Kennedy came out as trans in 2018, she wasn’t sure if that was going to be the end of her wine career. She was the only openly trans winemaker she knew of at the time.

“Luckily, I have some friends who love me a lot, sat me down and, in the most loving way possible, gave me a stern talking to about how my existence fully as myself and as a professional craftsperson and winemaker were not mutually exclusive,” Kennedy says.

How lucky we are that Kennedy has kept making wine. Her Orange Fraîche is a dry skin contact riesling with notes of cantaloupe and elderflower; her Sparkle Pony red blend, made from Malbec, Cinsault, and the lesser-known Counoise is a homage to classic dry lambrusco. Her Viv line of reserve wines—her nickname as well as “to live” in French—is named in honor of her decision to live fully as herself, and a portion of proceeds go to the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Since Kennedy has come out, she’s found community with winemakers like Hip Chicks Do Wine, whose facility she uses to make her wines. And she’s also gotten to meet more trans winemakers.

“I’ve had the pleasure of connecting with other trans folks who were looking at whether there was a path forward for them in the wine industry, and I’ve had some really lovely opportunities for mentorship,” she says. Kennedy’s assistant winemaker, Beatrice Barrar, is also a trans woman, and this year she’ll release her second vintage unsder her label, Just A Vessel. ramcellars.com, @ramcellars

Statera Cellars/Lares Wines

Luke Wylde never saw himself as much of a beer drinker. “I was at a college party, and I saw the way that straight boy frat culture was happening, like keg stands, and I was like, ‘This is not it,’” says Wylde. “I looked over and I saw the theater kids and girls all gabbing around a table with cocktails and wine bottles, and I was like, ‘That’s better.’”

Wylde and friend Meredith Bell opened Statera Cellars in 2014, the only Oregon winery at the time focusing exclusively on chardonnay. Wylde and Bell also have their own lines; Wylde’s, named Lares after the Roman gods of the hearth, is (ahem) wild and experimental, bottling everything from aligoté to apples.

Statera’s tasting room is tucked in a Southeast Portland warehouse, home to several other micro-tasting rooms, but by mid-June, Statera plans to open more spacious digs in that same warehouse. The tasting room functions as a community space, with weekly D&D and family-friendly video and board game nights; it also hosts the monthly queer dance party Jacques Strappe. Wylde also takes his wines to Orlando and Nashville with Wine Flair, a touring queer wine festival.

“I came out when I was 39,” says Wylde. “Ultimately, my life has just gotten better and richer as I have decided to say ‘fuck it’ and lean into this life.” 109 SE Salmon, stateracellars.com, @stateracellars

Remy Wines

Remy Drabkin has always known who she is. When she was 8 years old, she decided she wanted to be a winemaker, and at 14, she worked her first harvest. She launched Remy Wines in 2006 when she was 25.

Drabkin has always been out within her community, but wasn’t as vocal about being a queer winemaker as she is now. She built her brand around old-world Italian wines, making chestnut barrel-aged nebbiolo, and being the first Oregon winemaker to vinify Lagrein, a Northern Italian grape.

When she started talking more often about her identity, she noticed online comments on Wine Enthusiast articles saying things like “Can’t wine just be wine?” But Drabkin became even more outspoken. “Wine is wine, but gay people have contributed tremendously to the world of wine, and we should acknowledge and celebrate it,” she says.

Drabkin is also a community leader in the Willamette Valley, where she grew up. From 2022 to 2024, she was McMinnville’s first woman and first openly queer mayor. In 2020, she co-founded Wine Country Pride, which hosts McMinnville’s Pride on Third festival and raises money for queer organizations and scholarships in the Willamette Valley. In 2022, she founded Queer Wine Fest, which will hold its fifth and final event this year on June 28. 17495 NE McDougall, Dayton, remywines.com, @remywines

Zē Wines

Zane Morris doesn’t shy away from descriptors old-school winemakers might not dare to utter: chuggable, crushable, fruit-forward. But with most bottles priced from $20-$25, Morris wants their wine to feel approachable for anyone—hence Zē Wines, named after the gender-neutral pronoun.

“We want to make it possible for people that can’t afford expensive wine but still have access to quality, responsibly-produced wines,” says Morris. “Often, the queer community tends to fall in that category, especially younger people.”

Zē Wines is unusual in that it uses American hybrid grapes—a cross between the European vinis vinifera grape that’s used to make wine and the fruitier American vitis labrusca that’s often used for grape juice. These hybrid grapes are more resistant to weather and disease, making them a more sustainable, inexpensive choice. Morris used Chelois, a French-American hybrid, for his $20 Zē Rouge Blend, and thanks to the grape’s unusual red flesh, the wine gained deep color with reduced skin contact time, giving it the lighter texture you’d find in white wine.

Morris founded Zē Wines in 2021, and he’s found constant support. He cold-emailed Drabkin to ask if he could pour at Queer Wine Fest; he now makes his wines at Remy’s facilities. Vivianne Kennedy of Ram Cellars lent equipment.

“There hasn’t been a single time where I’ve seen a queer producer ask for help and not get help from another queer producer almost immediately,” says Morris. “I’ve been really lucky that’s been omnipresent in my career, this big supportive queer community—where I know people like Remy, Viv, and Hip Chicks Do Wine did not have this support when they were starting.” zewines.com, @zewines

Landmass Wines

Melaney Schmidt and Malia Myers, partners in winemaking and life, make seriously good wine—but don’t mistake that for rigid or boring.

“We look towards the old guard as far as quality goes, but I think we bring a fresh enthusiasm to it, and that’s because we’re not beholden to anyone but ourselves,” says Schmidt.

Without a vineyard of their own, they’re able to choose fruit from their favorite sites across the Willamette Valley, Columbia River Gorge, and Rogue Valley. Sparkling wine is a particular strength, like the Heavy Glow sparkling rosé. Schmidt and Myers were also way ahead of the trend with their chilled red; theirs is made from an unconventional combination of pinot noir, chardonnay, and tempranillo.

Landmass started in 2018 with 200 cases and has grown to 6,000. Last year, Landmass opened a tasting room in the Alameda neighborhood, a space they hope will feel welcoming to all, with most bottles under $30. Not only are they one of few wineries owned by a queer couple, but Myers is also Filipina, making Landmass part of a growing group of AAPI-owned wineries.

Landmass’ winemaking facility in Cascade Locks opens once a quarter for wine club releases and an annual Pride party in June. They’ve held Pride celebrations every year since 2018, complete with raunchy drag performances from Peachy Springs—save the date for June 28. 4727 NE Fremont, landmasswines.com, @landmasswines 

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Queer-Owned Wine Bars

Living Room Wines, 4818 N Lombard, livingroomwinespdx.com, @livingroomwinespdx

Stem Wine Bar, 3920 N Mississippi, stemwinebarpdx.com

Natty’s Wine Bar, various pop-up locations, nattyswinebar.com, @nattyswinebar

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Summer Queer Wine Events

Made With Pride, Director Park, 815 SW Park, June 14, 1 pm-5 pm, $30-$45, madewithpridepdx.com

Queer Wine Fest, Remy Wines, 17495 NE McDougall, Dayton, June 28, 4 pm-7pm, $135, queerwinefest.com (Penthouse Party, Atticus Hotel, 375 NE Ford, McMinnville, June 27, 7 pm-late, $95)

Landmass Pride Party, 160 NE Herman Creek, Cascade Locks, June 28, noon-5 pm, $15, landmasswines.com