Nicolas-Jay Winery

Jay Boberg met Jean-Nicolas Méo at a dinner party in Philadelphia in 1987, hosted by Jay’s sister, who had studied alongside Jean-Nicolas at Penn State. They talked about wine and music and became friends.

Two years later Jean-Nicolas returned to Burgundy to take over Domaine Méo-Camuzet, mentored by the legendary Henri Jayer, who had farmed the family’s vines as a tenant. He was twenty when his father asked him to run it, in the middle of business studies in Paris. He has since spent nearly thirty years making wine from Richebourg, Clos de Vougeot, Corton Clos Rognet, Echezeaux, and Cros Parantoux — and built Méo-Camuzet into one of the most collectible producers in Burgundy.

Jay built a different kind of legacy. He co-founded IRS Records in 1979, launching or shaping the careers of R.E.M., Black Sabbath, and Fine Young Cannibals, then became head of Universal Music Publishing and MCA Universal Records, working with The Roots, Mary J. Blige, and Sublime.

In 2011, winding down his music career, Jay approached Jean-Nicolas about starting a small winery in Oregon. What followed was a two-year search. Jean-Nicolas came out repeatedly, and they tasted fruit and wine from around 200 different vineyards — an unusual advantage, since they could taste the same site vinified different ways. His condition was blunt: he had Méo-Camuzet, and he wouldn’t do this unless they could make world-class wine. Early on, he concluded they could.

During a blind barrel tasting across 20 vineyards, both were struck by the same wine. It came from Bishop Creek in Yamhill-Carlton. They bought it in 2014.

Bishop Creek runs 13.5 acres with 11 planted to clone 777, Wädenswil, Pommard, and 667, most of it own-rooted and planted in 1988 and 1990. It’s been farmed organically since acquisition and contributes to every multi-site wine, giving the range its savory quality and tight structure. Additional fruit comes from Temperance Hill, Hyland, Nysa, Witness Tree, Momtazi, Cherry Grove, La Colina, and Spirit Hill.

Jean-Nicolas spends close to two months in Oregon each year, across spring, summer, and harvest. The winery and tasting room on Dudley Road opened in April 2021, adjacent to a new estate vineyard that was harvested for the first time in 2025.