History EIEIO & Company
Jay McDonald was the guy in college who kept wine in his fridge instead of beer, an interest that would grow into a passion and evolve into a career. After a detour through the world of business management and finance, Jay's interest in wine led him to Oregon. In 1994, he purchased an historic building in downtown Carlton, a small town in the heart of the Willamette Valley wine country. Several Oregon wine-centric businesses followed: wine distribution, marketing, retail, and in 1996, his first commercial wine.
Jay thought up the name of his winery, EIEIO while drinking with friends and family by throwing ideas around, "deciding not to take myself too seriously." First and foremost his wine making is focused on the fruit that grew in the vineyard and not the other way around; made in the winery! More details can be found within this website as well as various philosophies of transforming fruit into wine. EIEIO & Company was founded in 1998, and Jay's first independent commercial vintage was during the amazingly hot 2003 vintage, nothing like having your "feet put to the fire" they say!
EIEIO & Company operated from 2003 through 2014 in leased facilities while Jay searched for and developed his ideal vineyard and winery. Bergstrom Winery was EIEIO's original operating premises as well as one of the first separately bonded “alternating wine proprietorship” in the state from 2003 through 2007. In 2006, Jay found and purchased his ideal location just outside Carlton. Since 2015, Jay has been in his own winery.
