The Founder
Founder, Bob Morus serves as President and Director of Winegrowing. He moved to Hood River in 1989 with the expressed goal of raising both wine grapes and kids. Today, his children are all grown up and the established estate vineyard consists of 36 acres of breathtaking vines.
Bob now spends his time tending the vines or overseeing all production aspects, since retiring from commanding a Boeing 777 in international operations for a major airline. He also now has more time for stories of Phelps Creek in the new Tasting Room.
Contact Bob at robert@phelpscreekvineyards.com
The Consulting Winemaker
Alexandrine Roy, from Gevrey-Chambertin, first joined our team in 2007, with the goal of crafting a special cuvée from our estate Pinot Noir. Over the years, her role expanded into contributions reflected in all of our wines. Even though Alex has now taken the reigns in her family estate Domaine Marc Roy, she still finds time to return to Oregon and contribute to Phelps Creek Vineyards. This fourth-generation Vigneron continually amazes our team with her timeless techniques steeped in tradition.
The General Manager
Lynette Barss-Morus began her journey to Phelps Creek through a serendipitous visit to a Hong Kong wine bar. She unexpectedly ventured into the layover lair of Bob and his co-pilot. Bob, aiming to impress this cute Canadian lass, ordered them a bottle of New Zealand Pinot Noir, and the rest is history.
Lynette spent 12 years in Asia in marketing and sales for medical imaging equipment throughout the Pacific Rim. While overseas she attended Hong Kong's prestigious WSET Academy (Wine & Spirit Education Trust), earning her Level 3 Certification.
email: lynette@phelpscreekvineyards.com or phone: 541.399.7928
The Cellar & Vineyard Manager
Irineo Magaña has been our Manager of Vineyard Operations for over 25 years. He believes that the quality of wine in the bottle first begins with the hours of hard work in the field.
His commitment to quality grape production stems from personal pride in witnessing the vineyards developments transforming wines that truly reflect the beauty of the land. He coordinates a team of three brothers and numerous other workers in the field to make this magic happen.
Irineo was awarded Vineyard Excellence Award in 2016 from Oregon Wine Board.
The Manager of Winemaking Operations
Catarina Simões joins Phelps Creek in a full-time role. In two previous harvests, the Portuguese native assisted in “the crush.” Today she joins our team in full-time capacity as she acquired a H1B work visa. Catarina holds a winemaking degree from University of Trás-os-Montes & Alto Douro and is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, French and English. Catarina assumes the role of managing winemaking operations, becoming responsible for coordinating our facilities and staff in the production of our wines. Catarina can be reached at catarina@phelpscreekvineyards.com
Senior Enologist
A graduate of UC Davis's Wine program, Bill Swain moved his family to the Columbia Gorge over 30 years ago, seeking the perfect place to start his own winery. He and Bob "kicked the dirt" on Phelps Creek Vineyard's estate long before the land was purchased.
His vast winemaking experience flowed through positions crafting wine in California, Oregon,Venezuela, Virginia and Washington. Bill returned to the Gorge in a dual role as our resident Enologist and Grandfather to his own clan.
Assistant Winemaker
Ira Kreft joined our team in 2010. He assists Alexandrine Roy and Bill Swain by bringing an appreciation for traditional winemaking practices as well as New World technology. He enjoys nurturing the native yeast essential to Phelps Creek's unique expression of terroir.
Earning his Certificate in Winemaking from U.C. Davis, Ira maintains a strong commitment to continuing education. Prior to joining our team he volunteered with many other wineries in both Michigan and Oregon.