Our Team
Winegrowing calls for intensive field work. From the grueling hand labor of planting and tending the vines through the growing season to the back-breaking manual harvest, we would not have the high quality product that we are able to bring to your table without the help of a multitude of vineyard workers. For the lifetime of our winery, we have supported vineyard worker healthcare via Salud, first as 20-year members of the Vintner’s Circle, and now as bidders at the Salud auction. In 2020, we also began to support a great new scholarship program in the Willamette Valley, called Ahivoy. We encourage you to support vineyard worker healthcare, and scholarship programs like Ahivoy so that we may all help to provide education and professional development pathways that reach beyond the vineyard.
Beyond the vineyard, both behind the scenes and behind the bar, our core team of resilient, creative, and brilliant employees wear many hats and accomplish the work of a small army for Raptor Ridge. We are honored to work shoulder to shoulder with the individuals below. Come visit us to see what we mean!
We're proud of our closely knit team that not only works well together, but to a person, shares a passionate commitment to make Raptor Ridge a safe and enjoyable environment where all who love wine should feel a sense of belonging. This is demonstrated by the manner in which we welcome every guests, treat our employees, and conduct ourselves towards our community of wine professionals. We are committed as individuals and as a company to continue our work to actively change the face of an industry that is woefully in need of diversification.
After signing the WVWA Diversity Pledge, we have taken a couple of small steps in 2020. One was to provide Spanish translations for our daily tasting menu, and the option for tours and tastings conducted in Spanish by our new Tasting Room Manager, Luiggi Uzcategui. We also examined our supplier relationships for opportunities to diversify, and have shifted to two Black-owned businesses who now supply us with our logoware and lovely organic syrups for our Alcohol Free tasting flight. In addition, we began the conversation about self-study in this year of conflict. See each team member’s picks at the end of their bio and view our complete company promise here.
Scott Shull
Founder & Winegrower
Since 1989, Scott Shull has been making Oregon wines—first as an independent producer, and since 1995 as a commercial winemaker at Raptor Ridge Winery. Scott strives to craft wines that are interesting to the palate and to the mind—wines of complexity, finesse and place. Born in Kentucky and raised in Des Peres, Missouri, Scott is a self-taught winemaker, having learned by doing, reading, and attending extension service courses on viticulture and enology offered by U.C. Davis, Oregon State University, and Chemeketa Community College, and by participating in the Willamette Valley’s Westside Winemakers Club for a number of years. Scott serves on the board of Oregon Pinot Camp. Previously, he has served as a board member of Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s Brand Oregon campaign; was a founding director of the Oregon Wine Board; and is president emeritus of the Chehalem Mountains Winegrowers Association.
To Read: Peoples of the Northwest Coast Their Archaeology and Prehistory Ames & Maschner
Annie Shull
Proprietor, Chief Operations Officer
Annie joined Scott as his life partner in 1998 and as his business partner in 2001. This Minnesota native is very active throughout the Oregon wine industry. Her background in curriculum development for technical sales teams segued into a 15-year role of distribution sales management and PR. The bulk of her time is now spent managing processes and operations at the winery. Annie is president emeritus of Oregon Pinot Camp, and served as a director for nine years, contributing to review and revision of curriculum. Annie also served on the iSalud! steering committee, and currently co-chairs the Diversity, Equity, Belonging and Inclusion Taskforce for the Willamette Valley Wineries Association. When she’s not working, Annie enjoys cycling, practicing yoga, teaching and learing about meditation, and trying to keep up with Scott and a bouncy Labrador Retriever.
To Watch: 13th, Just Mercy, Prom
To Read: My Grandmother’s Hands, The Warmth of Other Suns, Braiding Sweetgrass, The Inner Work of Racial Justice, The March Trilogy: Graphic Novel, White Fragility, What We Became
To Follow: Tell Me More, My Next Guest Needs no Introduction, It’s Been a Minute, Ten Percent Happier, Black History Year, The Daily Show
Shannon Gustafson
Winemaker
Shannon holds a degree in Food Science/Winery Production from California State Fresno (Cum Laude) and has been on “the wine route” since graduating in 2003. She also minored in French Language and Chemistry. Over these past 17 years, Shannon has made wine on 3 continents (France, Australia, North America), including a 10-year stint on California’s Central Coast working for small family wineries like ours. Most recently, Shannon was winemaker for Hawks View winery in Sherwood, OR - our neighbor. One of our dear friends was a lab-mate and cohort of Shannon’s as they progressed through school at Cal State and warned us that, “Shannon is wicked smart!” Shannon enjoys hikes and exploring outdoors along with her energetic companion dog - Abby.
To Listen to: There Goes the Neighborhood, According to Need (99% Invisible). 1619, Code Switch
To Read: The Vanishing Half, Unfollow, Astoria, Daughter of Molaka'I, Between the World and Me, The Devil's Highway
Wallace McKeel
National Sales Manager
Wallace joined the Raptor Ridge team in March 2021 as our National Sales Manager. In this role, she shares the pride and passion of Raptor Ridge wines with our distribution sales partners across the country. Relationships are her currency, and she strives to inform wine professionals and consumers about the quality, care, and intention that form the bedrock of Raptor Ridge Winery.
Born and raised in Louisiana, Wallace discovered her passion for wine through holding positions in all aspects of the hospitality industry. She is a 10-year beverage industry veteran who began earning wine certifications while working in the boutique bottle shops and legendary dining rooms of New Orleans and soon transitioned into roles in wine distribution program management and sales. Wallace is a Certified Specialist of Wine, a Hospitality Beverage Specialist, a Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) level two award-holder, and a Certified Sherry Wine Specialist.
In 2018, Wallace worked as a Harvest Intern in Oregon’s Chehalem Mountains AVA and quickly caught the Oregon bug. In 2020, Wallace worked as a harvest intern for Raptor Ridge learning the intricacies of the winemaking process.In her spare time, Wallace enjoys yoga, hiking, camping, cooking, and entertaining while exploring her new home in the Willamette Valley. She is committed to the importance of building strong relationships with wholesalers, distributors, and wine-lovers across the nation.
Caroline Justice
Manager of Membership and Digital Communications
Caroline joined Raptor Ridge as our first Hospitality Intern in the summer of 2019. Her creativity and can-do attitude quickly won the hearts of the whole team and we could not let her depart at the end of her internship. Instead we enticed her to remain on and lead the charge into a more innovative membership program specifically to our dedicated wine club, and focusing on the future of our digital marketing. Caroline first crossed our path at Auburn University in Alabama, where she graduated from the Hospitality and Business Administration school. As a returning Alumni, Caroline imparts her enthusiasm for all things Willamette Valley and hopefully keeps the pipeline of Auburn interns coming for future seasonal staffing here at Raptor Ridge and throughout the valley.
To Watch: 13th, The hate u give
To Read: Things That Make White People Uncomfortable
To Listen To: Code Switch
Luiggi Uzcategui
Tasting Room and Guest Education Manager
We first encountered Luiggi as a wine buyer in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he was the bar manager at an influential craft cocktail bar. His enthusiasm and creativity behind the bar were inspiring, as well as his scientific curiosity about everything relating to the beverage and culinary arts. Luiggi fell in love with Oregon during Oregon Pinot Camp.
A man of many talents and interests, he likes to refine his academic loves of psychology, art, and chemistry, as well as dabbling in myriad musical instruments including classical guitar, ukelele, bass guitar, trumpet, and the ocarina. When not being a total nerd, he also likes to surf, hike, kayak, SUP, and work on his motorcycles. His favorite part about working at Raptor Ridge (besides the wonderful wine, of course) is engaging with guests and creating a hospitable experience for them. Luiggi also authors our blog, and translates our menus and offers tastings and tours in Spanish.
To Listen To: The United States of Anxiety, Pod Save the People, Tamarindo
To Read: The Mismeasure of Man, A Fistful of Shells, Building the Prison State, A Different Mirror
Ileana Higashiyama
Hospitality Associate
Ileana joined us when Portland beckoned to her from the wilds of Iowa, where she was a cheesemonger and server at one of our favorite home-away-from-home wine bars, Brix in Iowa City. A native of California, she had always planned to make it back to the West Coast, and well, we were lucky enough to be on that pilgramage. Currently, Ileana is attending school at Portland Community College where she is earning an undergraduate degree but the wine world still speaks to her. Ileana graces our tasting room with her cheese and wines of the world knowledge and enthusiasm, dreaming up our cheese and charcuterie offerings, as well as heading up our currated flights, educational vineyard tours and Estate packages when we can entice her away from her studies.
To Watch: 13th, Lovecraft Country, Malcolm X, Pose Season 2
To Read: Me & White Supremacy, So You Want to Talk About Race, How to Be Anti-Racist, This Book is Anti-Racist
To Listen To: Pod Save the People, The Untold Story of Policing, Nice White Parents, Good Ancestor Podcast
To Follow: The Anti-Racism Daily Newsletter
Nonprofits and Local Organizations: Brown Hope, The Black Resilience Fund, and the Black Food Sovereignty Coalition
Larry Nelson
Hospitality Associate
Larry wins the prize for the shortest commute to work, which is how we first made his acquaintance. Larry is firmly entrenched in “retirement” after an active life doing everything under the sun. Larry works as half of Chehalem Mountain Pottery at his nearby home studio. A native of Colorado Larry was transplanted as a lad to the Tacoma, Washington area before landing Beaverton. A 40-year wine industry veteran who started as a stock boy at The Cheese Shop, Larry partnered with his brother in 1976 to launch Nelson Brothers Cheese & Wine, curating a selection of 500+ wines from around the globe. Back then, he enjoyed hosting winemakers from Europe, the US, and local wineries, learning about Oregon wines as fast as Oregon winemakers were learning how make them. And the everything under the sun part? A PSU art degree, scuba instructor, professional pyrotechnician, and home beer brewer. We’re just wondering when he is going to start learning to train elephants.
To Watch: The Central Park Five
To Listen To: Seizing Freedom, The American Tapestry Project, It's Been A Minute, All Things Considered
Caleb Senner
Hospitality Associate
We are so fortunate to have Caleb on our team! Caleb is vibrant, ambitious, thorough, and is also just one of the sweetest people you’ll meet. A true renaissance man, Caleb has a degree in culinary arts from Western Culinary Institute. He is a certified sommelier through the International Sommeliers Guild. He holds bachelor's degrees in accounting and French, as well as a certificate in international business, and is looking forward to begin working towards his CPA license. An absolute rockstar.
