We are saddened to announce the death of our winemaker Jim Schaad.  He passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at the start of harvest. 

Jim Schaad was the winemaker for August Cellars. His passion for wine started in college as the Oregon wine industry was in its early years. After getting degrees in chemistry, metallurgy and computer science, and a long stint at Microsoft where he honed is skills at analysis and analytical thinking along with developing a palate. He spent two years learning from Rachel Starr, after which he took over winemaking duties in 2004.