Who We Are

We are an abnormally attractive bunch, particularly for bloggers.
Washington Staff
Clive Pursehouse

Clive began writing for The Oregon Wine Blog over a dinner conversation with a friend. What followed has been an instant love affair (not like that)from the start with both Northwest wines and the people who are involved in making, selling and appreciating them. Clive has no formal wine training and will be the first to tell you that his wife Gwynne has a far better palate than he does. What Clive does know is that some of the world's best wine is being made right here in his adopted back yard, from the Pinot Noirs of the Willamette Valley to the big tannic wines of Red Mountain, the variety and quality of the wines made here in the northwest is very easy to get excited about.


A husband, new dad, cyclocross racer and person of dubious authority on the topic of sustainability Clive makes time for wine, and for the NW Wine Anthem.

Gwynne Junkin
Gwynne began her foray into Northwest wine alongside Clive. From the outset it was clear that she had the better palate of the pair. Her true passion though is food; creating culinary opportunities and adventures to share with friends and family.  Wine of course goes hand in hand with good food and Gwynne looks forward to bringing you food and wine pairings and recipes.  Gwynne is adjusting to being a new mom and hopes to continue her foodie ways while she also creates culinary delights in the form of baby food.  It'll be a challenge she's up to.


Michelle Primley Benton

Initially a gin & tonic kind of girl at heart, Michelle first fell smitten with Washington wine when she received a bottle of Chateau Ste. Michelle Johannesburg Riesling for her 22nd birthday (the name of the winery may have had something to do with it...).  From there she began to cautiously wade into the wine scene, a good grocery-store find here, a wine bar there.  Though she fell into the all-too-common trap of many a young professional - drinking wines based exclusively on critter-bedecked labels, punny names and that all-important price tag - she has since found the joy of exploring the amazing wines the Pacific Northwest has to offer, and meeting the amazing people who make up the area’s wine industry.  

Half the fun of wine is where you drink and who you drink it with.  From wine bars to tasting rooms, festivals to friends gathered around the dinner table, Michelle will be bringing you her adventures as she weaves good wine into the good life in Seattle.  There is much to learn, grasshopper, so expect fun, a little dash of quirkiness and yes, the occasional pun-filled wine label (it’s hard for an English nerd to say no to that...) along the way as Michelle seeks to expand her palate with great NW wines.


Liz Wasson Coleman
For Liz's first 23 years of life her wine exposure was limited to weekly communion and sneaking Boone's Farm into her friends' rooms for sleepovers. Thankfully that all changed after she transplanted herself from Wichita to Seattle and started collecting friends with better taste. She finally fell head over heels in love with wine in 2004 when she started working in the periphery of the Northwest wine industry, on the architecture and branding side of things, at Boxwood. These days Liz looks forward to her husband's nightly dinner and wine pairings - probably a bit more than she should - but she's okay with that. In truth, she's got a soft spot for Washington wines, her favorites coming out of Red Mountain and Columbia Valley. When she's not busy parenting and leading a rogue Girl Scout troop, Liz also contributes to her neighborhood news blog and occasionally pours for Sparkman Cellars and Waters Winery.

Oregon Staff

Megan Graves
Megan carefully waded into the word of wine clutching a Riesling floatie - specifically, Columbia Winery's Cellarmaster's Riesling.  A creature of habit she began working her way through the whites and started attending wine tasting events with friends and co-workers in an effort to broaden her understanding and develop her knowledge of wines (though admittedly, the idea of an event where good cheese was paired with absolutely anything else was attractive enough).  After a year or so of tasting different wines, she was still glued to the sweet whites, and even managed to evade several of Clive and Gwynne's best efforts to lure her into the reds as they left racks full of red wine in exchange for house/petsitting.  At last, during a staff wine-tasting event, she was introduced to an Argentinian Malbec and since has enjoyed delving into other reds and further developing her palate.


A recent Washington transplant to Oregon, Megan currently works in the hospitality industry in Portland.  She is excited to begin exploring the wines that Oregon has to offer, and start sharing her experiences and finds here on NW Wine Anthem!


Kelsey Ivey
Sipping her way around the world, Kelsey is a self proclaimed travel wine junkie. From her first taste of wine while studying abroad in Italy, Kelsey fell in love in the little bubbles of Prosecco. Once back in Oregon, she found home again in the region’s Pinot noirs when pouring for a local, boutique winery. But when the travel bug bit again, Kelsey explored her adventurous side with South Africa’s Sauvignon Blanc and Pinotage – walking the lush vineyards of Cape Town’s Constantia Uitsig Winery. After ample wine tasting and burning on the beaches, Kelsey returned to the United States to finish her bachelor’s degree in Journalism. Kelsey currently works for a visitor information center in Eugene and pours occasionally for Noble Estate. If her free time Kelsey enjoys roaming Oregon, jumping covered bridges, hiking, painting and blogging.

Jenny Mosbacher

Jenny Mosbacher was born and raised in the dewy hillsides outside of Portland, Oregon; coincidentally the same hillsides renowned for growing world-class Pinot Noir. On the understanding that her extensive and expensive education in fine arts would never pay the bills, Jenny found her chosen day job at a local winery tasting room and never looked back. When Jenny isn’t running a high-traffic tasting bar and waxing rhapsodic about wine, she enjoys such frivolities as single-origin coffee beans, dominating at pub quiz night, casual swearing, and collecting cookbooks.

Tiffany Stevens

Taking the road less traveled into the world of wine, Tiffany began her journey loving what she describes as Cabernet Sauvignon “that punches you in the face.”  Early on, only a few in her circle had any interest in wine; largely, they seemed most energized by trumping each other with their wine knowledge and grand experiences. After moving from Seattle to Arizona, she found herself back in the Northwest’s Willamette Valley.  Discovering the vibrant wine community in both Oregon and Washington rekindled her interest in all things wine. She has grown to admire the Northwest winemakers’ respect for each other, strong sense of community and deliberate efforts to connect with those interested in what they do. Living 20 minutes from wine country, she often ventures out to see the land, the grapes and the wines close-up. The same goes for Washington, as visits with family and friends now often include visits to wineries. No longer king, Cabernet is now forced to share the spotlight with the crispest Pinot Gris and everything in between.  By contributing to The NW Wine Anthem, Tiffany is able to channel her enthusiasm for Northwest wines and winemakers constructively, in lieu of shouting it from the rooftops.