THE DAY I SPOKE TO GREG AND DEBBIE SCHULTZ, the pair had started out early with a morning run. That’s actually the way they first met, in a club for runners back in Baton Rouge. The big difference, on this morning in 2018, is that they run through their own sixty-acre Southern Oregon property, home of Glory Oaks Vineyard and Schultz Wines. How this de-vine couple got from careers in chemical engineering and mortgage underwriting in Louisiana to working as winegrowers in the Applegate Valley is a story that begins twelve years ago with a taste of wine.

The wine was Chardonnay. The tasting was part of an adult leisure class at Louisiana State University on wines from around the world. Greg remembers, “It started off just for fun—taste wines…learn a little bit about them… meet people and eat a little food.” After three or four sessions, the instructor announced the next class would be a tasting of seven Chardonnays. “My initial thought was this is going to be the worst class he’s ever done. How boring. But we went and it was the best class ever because they were so different and that sparked our curiosity about why they were so different.”

That curiosity, together with a love of the outdoors and a yearning to try life on the west coast led the couple to explore the idea of a career change. “We looked around in California and in Washington, but I was born in Oregon. I’m a native, even though I only lived here six months as a baby. My folks were in the Air Force. They were stationed in a little town called Condon out in Central Oregon. Even though I have no memories of it, I remember hearing about it my entire life.” Schultz Wines “Freedom” Pinot Noir features a picture of Greg’s dashing dad in his Air Force pilot’s uniform on the label. “So we focused on Oregon, the varietals you can grow here, the beauty of this area and four seasons, which we didn’t have in Louisiana.”

Debbie nods. “We had hot and hotter in Louisiana.”

With their minds set on Southern Oregon, the couple rented a little cottage in Ashland in 2010, telecommuting to their jobs in Baton Rouge. “For five months we worked every day there on a little card table with two computers, four monitors, and two dogs in a 300 square foot cottage,” Debbie explains, “but then on Fridays Greg volunteered at Weisinger’s, so he kind of got a taste of a full operation with the winery and the vineyard, helping with harvest and in the cellar and the tasting room.”

“One of the things we learned when we were here in 2010,” Greg adds, “was that we couldn’t afford to buy a winery and vineyard because that was out of our range. That was a big disappointment because we had no idea it was so expensive. But we also learned that Dana Campbell was making wine with Linda Donovan at Pallet Wine Company. We met her and hooked up in 2010 and got started even while we still lived in Louisiana.”

With their virtual winery established, the couple bought their land in 2014. They planted their first vines, Tempranillo and Malbec, the next year. “We got out there with string and measuring tape and laid out the vineyard,” Debbie remembers. “I’m not skilled at that kind of thing. Greg is. I can pound stakes but I can’t do 3-4-5 triangles.”

Greg emphasizes that the couple is a team that accomplishes everything together. “Debbie was on the weed eater today and I was on the brush cutter. Debbie’s much better at organizing things and office work, though. I’m not sure what I’m good at. I’m persistent.”

In 2019 a new, two-acre vineyard block of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc will be established on a north-facing hill, where conditions are cooler. The couple is also contemplating a conversion to biodynamic farming. “We’re heading in that direction. We have our chickens and sheep. We’ve basically been organic in the vineyard for a couple of years, though we’re not yet certified,” Greg says. “We get organic compost from Noble Dairy. How nice that you can pick up the phone and call the dairy owner and say, ‘Can you load my trailer with some of your compost,’ so it kind of fits together. We don’t own our own tractor, so our neighbors at Wooldridge Creek Winery do our tractor work. They’re spraying our vineyard organically. And we converted our tasting room to solar power last year, another thing that fits in with being sustainable and leaving a small footprint.”

The tasting room, open since December 2015, is the original farmhouse, extensively remodeled. The couple has been living in their fifth wheel while their new house is being built and they expect to be moved in before harvest.

Greg reflects on life working the land. “This is every bit as full time as our engineering and banking jobs. Just more. This is all day, every day.”

“It’s so much better for us,” Debbie adds, “using our bodies and not sitting at desks all day.”

“We’re hands on,” Greg concludes. “We like doing this. We love doing this.”