Dai was a leading light for me (as he’s been to so many others) when I was trying to find my way into the organic circles of Oregon wine back in 2011. Being organic was still thought to be a bit dicey back then, and on my first professional visit to the Willamette Valley, organic growers were few and far between. Dai very graciously toured me through the amazing vineyard that is Temperance Hill, showing me its many microclimates and different exposures.
He’s been instrumental in sharing his knowledge and spreading the gospel about organic viticulture with many. The first Oregon Organic Winegrowing conference held in 2025 grew out of a conversation he had with Lemelson wine grower Rob Schultz. I was so fortunate to be invited to the conference and to cover it for WineBusiness.com. Here’s the article I wrote then, “Coffee, Collaboration and Community: Oregon Grower Group and Grand Cru Vintners Launch First Organically Grown Wine Conference,” which begins thusly…
A New “Grange Hall” Fueled by Coffee
It all started when Rob Schultz, who oversees Lemelson Vineyard’s seven, certified organic vineyards, and organic superstar grower Dai Crisp–he famously converted and certified the entire 100 acre Temperance Hill vineyard organic back in 2012-2014–were attending a viticulture event back in 2022.
“We were sitting together at the back, and they were talking about IPM–the basics, right? And here we were, two organic growers. I thought, ‘there should be an organic one of these.” Dai said, “There should be, and you should start it. I’ll call these people. You call those people. ‘Oh, cool.’”
GO TO the same story on substack to SEE THE PHOTOS https://organicwineuncorked.substack.com/p/organic-evangelist-and-luminary-dai. [Google has made it impossible for me to insert visuals here on blogger much to my chagrin.]
In the photo, Dai looks on at a session at the 2025 Oregon Organic Winegrowing conference held in McMinnville. The conference will be held again this year April 20-21 in McMinnville.
It’s no wonder that Dai is receiving the Founders Award from the Oregon Wine Board (press release below), after growing grapes for the greatest names in Oregon wine for 26 years at Temperance Hill. All organically. And at a time when that was even more uncommon.
Back in 2014, Wine & Spirits magazine called him “Grower of the Year” for his work at Temperance Hill. Today there are 29 wineries on the client roster. Today he’s handing on his knowledge of organic growing and building community.
• For those who want to continue the knowledge transfer and fun community, the 2026 Oregon Wine Growers Conference will be held April 20-21 in McMinnville.
• More info at https://www.organicwinegrowers.com.
Here’s a great interview with Dai from 2025 in which he describes how he transitioned from an interest in theater to his career in wine…and why Temperance Hill is called Temperance Hill. (You will never guess). He also recounts the story of the testing the spore trapping tech that saved a million vineyard sprays in Oregon alone and is now used globally.
CONTINUED ON FREE SUBSTACK POST...https://organicwineuncorked.substack.com/p/organic-evangelist-and-luminary-dai.
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