Jean Kurtz, Ali Rodgers: Telling wine’s story in the Umpqua Valley

Published 3:00 am Thursday, July 6, 2023

: Jean Kurtz, left, and Ali Rodgers are advocates for the Umpqua Valley Winegrowers Association in Southern Oregon. Kurtz has retired after 10 years with the organization and Rodgers assumed executive director responsibilities in early April.

ROSEBURG, Ore. — The promoting and marketing of the members of the Umpqua Valley Winegrowers Association has transitioned from Jean Kurtz to Ali Rodgers.

Kurtz was the administrator for the association for the past 10 years. With Kurtz’s retirement, Rodgers accepted the position of executive director, assuming the role in April.

“It’s been an honor,” Kurtz said of supporting the association and its board of directors. “It’s a dedicated group that has worked together to market the area as a whole.”

Rodgers brings 20 years of experience in the wine industry to the Umpqua Valley association.

“The Umpqua Valley reminds me of Walla Walla (Washington) just a few years ago,” she said. “I love the fact there are so many small family wineries. I want to help those wineries succeed. Most of the wineries are small businesses that are passionate about what they do. I can get behind that and support that.”

Rodgers learned about several aspects of the wine business by working for different companies. She worked in the accounting department for Key Technology, a Walla Walla company that made food processing machinery, including grape sorters that were tested at local wineries.

She then toured around New Zealand for three months, experiencing the Pinot noir and Sauvignon blanc vineyards and wineries of that country.

Returning home to Walla Walla, Rodgers worked in sales and marketing for the winery that her family started in 2003.

“I was doing all the things for the family business except making the wines,” she explained.

When the family sold the business eight years later, Rodgers and her husband, Ryan Rodgers, founded The Touring Company. The business offered tours of wineries and vineyards in the Walla Walla area.

“We provided a full educational experience, not just a designated driver,” Ali Rodgers said. “We were very successful with the business.”

The couple owned and operated the business for four years before deciding to move to the Roseburg area with a goal of operating a tour business. They made their move in 2022 and joined the Umpqua Valley Winegrowers Association after getting settled.

Ali Rodgers also volunteered on the association’s marketing committee whose mission was to attract more tourists to the area’s wineries.

Regarding their touring business, the Rodgerses came to realize there weren’t enough tourists coming to the Umpqua Valley area to support that venture.

So while that business idea was tabled, Ali Rodgers had the interest and the experience to step up on behalf of the Umpqua Valley Winegrowers Association as Kurtz was bowing out.

“She’s exactly what the association needs,” Kurtz said of Rodgers. “A person who has all her skills is pretty amazing.”

Rodgers said the small winery businesses don’t have time to do social media promotions.

“I like talking to people, telling the great stories of these winegrowers and their wineries,” she said.

“One of the things I love about the Umpqua Valley that you usually don’t see anywhere else is the winemaker pouring for you in the tasting room,” she added. “When wineries get to a certain size, they usually hire employees to pour then you’re not as close to the process or the family story. It’s more impactful when you have somebody who has made the wine tell the story.”

Rodgers said she thinks the Umpqua Valley area wine industry still feels like “it’s undiscovered.”

“I want to tell our story and entice consumers to come here for our world class wines,” she said.

A Capital Press’ annual special section that highlights the contributions women make in the agricultural sector.

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