“When you taste a complex wine, you can smell the spices, the flowers, the fruit, and in that moment you get transported to a memorable experience. When you can connect emotionally with the wine that is what I call a transcendent moment.”
— Jesús Guillén
Written and Photographed by: Diego Diaz
Updated September 2021
Jesús Guillén was a passionate crafter, artist, and head of Guillén Family Wines—one of the few Latinx-owned wine labels in the United States. A native of Chihuahua, Mexico, Jesús was loved by all those who met him in his meteoric journey in winemaking world. He was known for his generosity, humble character, and hard work to not only become a successful Latino winemaker, but also to ensure that he would not be the only one.
His style of winemaking is marked by old-world methods of minimal manipulation that included whole cluster fermentation using indigenous yeast and sur lie aging. His attention to detail and expertise resulted in wines known for their high levels of complexity and harmony and earned him numerous local awards and general admiration.
Guillén’s path to a world-class winemaker began in 2002 when he left his career as a computer systems engineer in his hometown of Ciudad Jiménez in northern México and moved to Oregon. At the time, his father worked as a vineyard manager at White Rose Estate Winery, and Guillén says he quickly fell in love with the state’s beautiful landscape and “winemaking lifestyle.” Seduced by superb 1999 pinot noir vintages, he was determined to immerse himself in the world of wine.
Jesús started from the bottom. He wanted to learn everything about winemaking. His first step in this direction was as a vineyard worker at Patricia Green Cellars. Later he joined his father at White Rose Estate. He juggled working hard at the vineyard year-round with studying at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, OR. He became a cellar master for White Rose in 2004.
During the summer of 2006, Guillén seized an opportunity. He came across 1300 plants at the neighboring Vista Hills vineyard that was heavily damaged by both an extraordinarily hot growing season and a mole infestation. The damaged block’s fruit was discarded, and the vines were to be ripped off and replanted. Instead, Vista Hills owner allowed Jesús to salvage the fruit in one last harvest of the condemned vines. Jesús had a shot to produce his very own first pinot noir.
The grapes nobody wanted, turned into an excellent glass of red, earning him a contract with Vista Hills to buy grapes, the start of a relationship that lasted for the rest of the winemaker’s life. Jesús was no longer aspiring to be a winemaker; he knew he had made it.
Guillén was promoted to head winemaker at White Rose Estate in 2008 and he received his first accolades that same year. By 2009, the Wine Advocate ranked one of Guillén’s pinot noirs as a 96, tying for the highest score ever attributed to an Oregon pinot noir. Guillén established his own label, Guillén Family Wines, in 2013.
In mid-October 2018, while working the season’s harvest, Jesús started to feel a pain in his back. The diagnosis turned to be a rare case of a very aggressive spinal cancer. He died November 5, leaving his wife Yuiliana and his son Adrián. Jesús was only 38 years old.
Jesús Guillén was very proud of his Hispanic heritage, and his strong sense of social justice inspired him to co-found “Ahivoy Oregon” (ahivoyoregon.com) in partnership with Chemeketa Community College and Linfield University. Ahivoy was born with the mission to strengthen the Oregon wine community through education. The wine industry professional training curriculum was designed to create a pathway to improve professional development, entrepreneurism, and leadership in the Oregon wine industry for the Latinx community.
Guillén’s work attracted the attention of many publications, most famously Wine Spectator, which included him in its 2018 “Best under 40.” Numerous press stories featured him as a cross-industry model for his work as a winemaker, and his entrepreneurship. He was featured in the documentary, “Red, White, and Black, an Oregon Wine History,” produced by the also well-known Haitian-American winemaker Bertony Faustin.
Jesús Guillén fue un artesano apasionado, un artista, y cabeza de Guillén Family Wines — una de las pocas marcas de vino propiedad de latinX en los Estados Unidos. Nacido en Chichuahua, México, Jesús fue amado por todos quienes le conocieron en su viaje meteórico en el mundo vinícola. Fue conocido por su generosidad, carácter humilde, y trabajo duro, no sólo para convertirse en un vinicultor de éxito, también para asegurarse que no iba a ser el único.
El estilo de sus vinos está marcado por métodos del viejo continente de mínima manipulación, que incluyen fermentación de racimo entero, uso de levaduras naturales y envejecidos sur lie. Su atención al detalle y pericia resultaron en vinos conocidos por su complejidad y armonías con las que ganó numerosos premios locales y la admiración general.
El camino de Guillén a la consagración como enólogo empezó en el 2002, cuando dejó una carrera dedicada a la ingeniería de sistemas en Ciudad Jiménez en el norte de México y se fue a vivir al estado de Oregon. En ese tiempo, su padre trabajaba como responsable de viñedo en White Rose Estate Winery, y Guillén se enamoró rápidamente de sus paisajes y el estilo de vida vinícola. Seducido por el magnífico Pinot noir reserva del 1999, determinó que se iba a sumergir en el mundo del vino.
Jesús empezó desde abajo. Quería aprenderlo todo sobro cómo hacer vino. Sus primeros pasos los dio como trabajador en la viña de Patricia Green Cellars. Más tarde, se fue con su padre a White Rose Estate. Combinaba el trabajo duro en los viñedos con clases en Chemeketa Community College en Salem, OR. En el 2004 se convirtió en el maestro de bodega.
Durante el verano del 2006, Guillén descubrió una oportunidad. Se encontró con 1300 plantas en el viñedo vecino de Vista Hills que estaban seriamente dañadas por la extraordinarias altas temperaturas de la temporada y una infestación de topos. La fruta de las viñas dañadas iban a ser descartadas, y las cepas estaban destinadas a ser replantadas. En lugar de eso, el dueño de Vista Hills permitió a Jesús salvar la fruta para una última cosecha de esas viñas condenadas. Jesús tenia su chance para producir su primera botella propia de pinot noir.
Las uvas que nadie quiso se tornaron en un vaso de vino excelente, ganándole un contrato de compra con Vista Hills, el comienzo de una relación que duraría el resto de la vida del vinicultor. Jesús ya no era más un aspirante, sabía que lo había conseguido.
En el 2008, Guillén fue ascendido a enólogo jefe de White Rose Estate, y empezó a recibir sus primeros premios. Durante el 2009, la revista Wine Advocate adjudicó a uno de los pinot noirs de Guillén una puntuación de 96, uno de los puntajes mas altos atribuidos a un pinot noir de Oregon. En el 2013, Guillén establecería su propia marca, Guillén Family Wines.
A mediados de octubre 2018, mientras estaba trabajando la vendimia, Jesús empezó a sentir un dolor en su espalda. El diagnóstico volvió con un caso poco común de cancer muy agresivo en su columna. Murió el 5 de noviembre, dejando atrás a su esposa Yuiliana, y a su hijo Adrián. Jesús tenia solo 38 años de edad.
Jesús Guillén siempre fue muy orgullos de su herencia hispana, su fuerte sentido de justicia social le inspiro a co-fundar Ahivoy Oregon (www.ahivoyoregon.com) en consorcio con Chemeketa Community College y Lindield University. Ahivoy nació con la misión de reforzar la comunidad vinícola de Oregon por medio de la educación. El programa de capacitación para el profesional de industria vinícola, fue diseñado para crear un camino para mejorar el desarrollo profesional, emprendedor, y liderazgo en el mundo vinícola de Oregon para la comunidad LatinX.
El trabajo de Guillén atrajo la atención de numerosas publicaciones, la famosa Wine Spectator, le incluyo en su lista “Best Under 40” (Los mejores de menos de 40) del 2018. Numerosos artículos de prensa local le destacaban como modelo a seguir por sus trabajo creando vinos y por su carácter emprendedor más allá del mundo del vino. El documental “Red, White, and Black, an Oregon Wine History”, producido por el también enólogo de origen haitiano, Bertony Faustin, lo tuvo como uno de sus protagonistas.
*THIS STORY WAS PUBLISHED IN 2017*
Jesús Guillén is a passionate crafter, artist, and head of Guillén Family Wines—one of the only Latinx-owned wine labels in the United States. Although Guillén began his career as a computer systems engineer in his hometown of Ciudad Jiménez in northern México, a visit to Oregon in 2002 sparked a career change. At the time, his father worked as a vineyard manager at White Rose Estate Winery and Guillén says he quickly fell in love with the state’s beautiful landscape and “winemaking lifestyle.” He was determined to also immerse himself in the world of wine.
To reach his goal, Guillén juggled working hard at the vineyard year-round while studying English at Chemeketa Community College in Salem. By the summer of 2006, scorching heat waves heavily damaged about 1300 plants at a nearby vineyard, but Guillén saw an opportunity to salvage the fruit just as the vineyard was preparing to throw them away. After carefully picking the grapes and cultivating a batch of pinot noir, the aspiring winemaker tasted his experiment and knew he had made it—he was finally a winemaker.
Guillén was promoted to head winemaker at White Rose Estate in 2008 and he received his first accolades that same year. By 2009, the Wine Advocate ranked one of Guillén’s pinot noirs as a 96, tying for the highest score ever attributed to an Oregon pinot noir. Just over a decade later, Guillén opted to establish his own label, Guillén Family Wines, in 2013.
Today, Guillén Family Wines is a thriving, family-owned business that produces nearly 1,000 cases per year. Staying true to his own roots, all Guillén Family Wines’ pinot noirs are named after family members. In 2017, Guillén’s work as a winemaker was featured in the documentary, Red, White, and Black alongside other prominent minority winemakers. “When you taste a complex wine, you can smell the spices, the flowers, the fruit, and in that moment, you get transported to a memorable experience,” he says. “You can feel the smells and flavors and the time you spent with family and friends. When you can connect emotionally with the wine, that is what I call a transcendent moment.”
Written and Photographed by: Diego Diaz
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