CJ and Elise McCollum, the proprietors behind McCollum Heritage 91, have officially launched McCollum Family Vineyard, a new wine brand built around estate-grown production from their 318-acre property in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA of Oregon's Willamette Valley. The move marks a deliberate pivot toward single-origin, terroir-focused winemaking at scale.
For beverage directors and sommelier teams, the launch signals a growing supply of estate-designated Willamette Valley wine from one of the region's more prominent ownership profiles. Yamhill-Carlton has earned a reputation for structured Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and an estate brand of this acreage can offer program buyers a consistent, identifiable source narrative — a selling point that resonates with guests increasingly curious about provenance.
The McCollums' existing venture, McCollum Heritage 91, gave the couple their initial footprint in Oregon wine country, and McCollum Family Vineyard appears designed to deepen that commitment rather than replace it. By dedicating a separate label exclusively to their estate fruit, the pair are following a model that several Willamette Valley producers have used to distinguish terroir-specific bottlings from broader regional blends.
For on-premise buyers tracking beverage industry analysis, estate-driven Oregon Pinot Noir continues to perform well on fine-dining and wine-bar lists, where storytelling and place of origin justify premium price positioning. A 318-acre property in a recognized sub-AVA provides substantial volume potential alongside the cachet of a defined geographic identity.
The launch also reflects a broader pattern covered in restaurant wine program coverage — operators leaning into producer relationships with compelling founder stories, particularly when those founders carry name recognition beyond the wine industry. As covered regularly by Food & Beverage Magazine, consumer appetite for authentic, family-owned production stories remains a durable driver of beverage list decisions across casual and upscale dining segments alike.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
