Oral history interview with Bill Fuller

Oral history interview with Bill Fuller [Sound Recording 01] Oral history interview with Bill Fuller [Sound Recording 02] Oral history interview with Bill Fuller [Transcript]

Identity elements

Reference code

SR 2885

Name and location of repository

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Series

Title

Oral history interview with Bill Fuller

Date(s)

  • 2002-01-24 (Creation)

Extent

0.1 cubic feet; 1 audiocassette (1 hr., 45 min., 6 sec.) + transcript (47 pages)

Name of creator

Fuller, Bill (William Lee), 1937-

Biographical history

William Lee "Bill" Fuller was born in Tulare, California, in 1937. In 1958, he earned a bachelor's degree, and then taught high school science in Cloverdale, California. He later earned a master's degree in food technology from the University of California, Davis. In the 1950s, he and Virginia Hamfeld were married; they later had four children. In 1973, he moved with his family to Oregon. He established Tualatin Vineyards with fellow winemaker Bill Malkmus near Forest Grove, Oregon. He was a co-founder of the Oregon Winegrowers Association. Fuller retired in 1997, and Tualatin Vineyards became part of Willamette Valley Vineyards and was renamed Tualatin Estate Vineyard. In 2013, he returned to winemaking as a consultant for Willamette Valley Vineyards.

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Scope and content

This oral history interview with Bill Fuller was conducted by Jamie Minkus and Kirsten Wall in Portland, Oregon, on January 24, 2002. The interview was conducted as part of the Oregon Wine Archives Oral History Project, which collected interviews with notable figures in the wine-growing industry, including vintners, vineyard growers, community members, and workers active in the development of Oregon's wine industry. A transcript is also available.

In this interview, Fuller discusses his early experience with winemaking at the Italian Swiss Colony in Santa Rosa, California. He shares the reasons why he and fellow winemaker Bill Malkmus chose the area of Forest Grove, Oregon, to establish their winery, Tualatin Vineyards; talks about the types of grapes they grew; and discusses the first wines they made in the 1970s. He speaks about his involvement with the Oregon Winegrowers Association and talks about wine labeling legislation the organization lobbied for. He talks about the growth of the Oregon wine industry and market since the 1970s, and how it changed during the 1980s. He also talks about winning best of show at the International Wine and Spirits Competition with a Pinot Noir and a Chardonnay in the same year. He discusses his partnership with Bill Malkmus; talks about his children and their careers; and closes the interview by sharing his winemaking philosophy.

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Conditions governing access

Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

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Languages of the material

  • English

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Notes element

General note

Preferred citation: Oral history interview with Bill Fuller, by Jamie Minkus and Kirsten Wall, SR 2885, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

General note

Forms part of the Oregon Wine Archives Oral History Project.

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Description control element

Rules or conventions

Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition.

Sources used

Archivist's note

Sarah Stroman

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