Wines created by people working in harmony with nature

Meet Team Troon

Denise and Bryan White - proprietors

“We didn’t find Troon, It found us,” says the new owners* of Troon Vineyard, Bryan and Denise White.  Friends introduced the Whites to the Applegate Wine Trail in early 2017, “We were mesmerized by the raw beauty of the Valley and quickly began researching the property and discussing the possibilities. We were compelled by something external to do this.”

Dr. Bryan and Denise White married in 1996.  They reside in Texas where they’ve raised four children. They will be dividing their time between Texas and Oregon.

Craig Camp: general manager

Craig Camp is a veteran fine wine professional with more than three decades of experience in every facet of the industry, including importing, exporting, distribution, marketing, sales, viticulture, and fine wine production. He has extensive hands-on experience in wineries in Italy, Napa Valley, the Willamette Valley, and now the Applegate Valley. 

Camp is an industry leader and has been recognized for his work by The New York Times, Washington Post, Food and Wine Magazine and Saveur Magazine. He was named one of “Wine’s Most Inspiring People of 2020” by the Wine Industry Network. He is president of the National Board of Directors of the Rhône Rangers and is vice-president of the Oregon Winegrowers Association. He is past president of the Applegate Valley Vintners Association. He is a member of the board of directors of the Rogue Valley Vintners Association and the Biodynamic Demeter Alliance and serves on the Oregon Wine Board marketing committee.

He came to the Applegate Valley to work in a region on the cutting edge of fine winemaking and is passionate about biodynamic regenerative organic winegrowing and winemaking in Oregon.

CraigCamp.com LinkedIn Profile

Nate Wall: winemaker

Nate’s fascination with the unseen world of microbes began with a molecular microbiology undergraduate degree, studying the many and varied roles played by microbes in natural systems. In graduate school for environmental engineering, his attention turned to how we might be able to manipulate natural microbial systems to help us clean up our messes, like contaminated groundwater aquifers or polluted stormwater. After a stint as a consulting engineer, Nate decided to turn his attention towards what is possibly humanity’s oldest, and arguably best, intentional use of microbes - making wine!

A few years of winemaking in Virginia and nearly a decade in the Willamette Valley brought Nate to Troon Vineyard in the Applegate Valley of Southern Oregon, where he has been the winemaker for the past five years. Troon's focus on regenerative Biodynamic agriculture and minimal intervention wines has been an amazing challenge, and an opportunity for Nate to re-examine winemaking through a "natural" lens. He now has way more questions than answers, but is pretty sure that our increasing understanding of the complexity of the microbial world will ultimately revolutionize how we think about winemaking.

Garett Long: director of agriculture

Garett is a farmer and soil scientist who believes healing the planet is in parallel with healing the human spirit. He spent five formative years practicing biodynamic and regenerative farming at Apricot Lane Farms (see: “The Biggest Little Farm” documentary), and earned his M.S. in Soils & Biogeochemistry from the University of California-Davis. He co-founded Soil Life Services, which supports producers in monitoring and evaluating the impacts of agricultural management on soil carbon and other metrics of soil health. He was also the Board Treasurer for the Josephine Porter Institute (2019-22). Since 2021, he has served as the Director of Agriculture at Troon Vineyard, Oregon’s only Biodynamic and Regenerative Organic Certified farm.

He is passionate about real, good food, preaching the value of soil, and the interconnectedness of all life. He has lectured on soil health, composting and regenerative farming for individuals and brands. Garett has engaged the movement at the intersection of agriculture and ecosystem management, working with people in resolute action to conserve what we have, and restore what we have lost. He enjoys camping, live music, dancing, and exploring the local food scene in his free time.

Nate Winters: director of sales

Nate Graduated high school in 2009 in Anderson, CA, and a few years later he joined the U.S. Army. After graduating from basic training as an honor graduate, he was invited to Airborne School to join the 82nd Airborne Division, where he served in various leadership roles, navigating small teams through very stressful situations and environments. When he finished his career with the Army in 2014, Nate then moved to Oregon and got involved in the restaurant and hospitality industry. He quickly moved up the ranks from dishwasher and expeditor to becoming a Manager of multiple restaurants within a year. This led him to find Troon, which offered a much more encouraging environment and new subjects to get involved with. Nate joined the Troon team in 2015 working in the tasting room. He moved his way through managing the tasting room for a year, then to the cellar and vineyard for a year leading up to his taking and passing the first two levels of the Court of Master Sommelier examinations within 6 months. He then took the knowledge and skills developed and transferred to the sales avenue. Starting with the Southern Oregon territory in 2019, Nate is now the Director of Sales and manages sales and relations across 17 states and three provinces of Canada.

Meg Ordaz: director of consumer sales

Meg came to Troon Vineyard in 2013, working at our former Carlton tasting room on the weekends. Through the years, she has grown and progressed throughout the tasting rooms and has been the Director of Consumer Sales since 2017. Over her many years of experience, she has enjoyed interacting with guests from all over the world and takes great pleasure in her work. She enjoys being a part of such a dynamic company, with all team members being so passionate about their areas of expertise but also wanting to educate themselves on the company. One of her most exciting projects was the build-out of our tasting room in downtown McMinnville. Meg loves to be a part of her local community through volunteerism and is currently the vice-president of the McMinnville Downtown Association, a co-chair for the programming committee for the Women in Wine Oregon group, and a regular volunteer at Gallery Theater. When not at work, Meg can be found spending quality time with her family catching a play or wine tasting with her mom, enjoying a baseball game with her husband, or enjoying time spent with her two adult children. .

Jennifer Teisl: director of farm sales

Jennifer is passionate about connecting people to the natural world through local food systems. She came to Troon through a desire to work at a biodynamic winery and farm embracing the whole farm approach and inviting biodiversity into the vineyard.

Jennifer holds a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Columbia University, which led her to dig deeper into the history and cultural impacts of food and wine throughout civilization. She continued to explore human relationships with local food systems and spent several years growing organic vegetables on a farm in the Hudson Valley, supplying produce to NYC restaurants. A curiosity about biodynamic farming took hold, and Jennifer studied biodynamic practices and philosophy at the Pffeifer Center in Chestnut Ridge, NY.

While learning the benefits of biodynamic farming, Jennifer also became intrigued with wines that reflect a sense of place, building a connection between farming and wine. Earning wine certifications from WSET (level 3) and CMS (Level 1) while working in the Hudson Valley wine industry, Jennifer began her search for the nexus of biodynamic regenerative farming and wines of integrity— which landed her at Troon Vineyard.

As the Director of Farm Sales, Jennifer manages the Tasting Room guest experience, Farm Stand, and sales of produce grown in the two acre garden at Troon. She is building relationships with local restaurants to feature Troon’s biodynamic regenerative produce on their menus. Jennifer envisions a network of organic farms, wineries and artisans thriving in the Applegate Valley to celebrate and support the biodiversity of the Klamath Siskiyou eco-region. She enjoys educating people on the benefits of biodynamic farming and wine making.

Jen Wahlstrom: McMinnville tasting room manager

Jen, who resides in the vibrant wine country of McMinnville, Oregon, brings a rich and diverse employment history to her passion for wine. With an extensive background in customer service and hospitality, Jen's journey is marked by adaptability and a unique skill set that sets her apart in the world of wine.

Jen joined team Troon in September 2021, marking the beginning of a partnership that has seen her play a pivotal role in enhancing Troon's reputation as a Biodynamic Vineyard. In January 2022, she achieved the prestigious WSET1 (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) certification and will be continuing her ongoing education in the fall of 2023. Currently, Jen has embraced the role of Tasting Room Manager where she continues to excel, seamlessly blending her customer service background, hospitality expertise, and wine knowledge to create memorable wine experiences for all who visit Troon Vineyard. Jen’s unique journey and multifaceted skills are a testament to her adaptability and her commitment to elevating wine experiences for enthusiasts and connoisseurs alike.

In her spare time Jen enjoys traveling and wine tasting with her husband, Craig, of 23 years. She also enjoys spending time with her 3 children (Aaron, Ryan and Kylie) and grandson (Hayze) playing games and watching her youngest daughter Kylie pursuing her passion playing tennis and watching her daughter Ryan perform on the dance team where she is currently enrolled in wine studies at Linfield University.