Q: Can you introduce yourself and your winery and tell me a little bit about your history?

A: My name's Todd Kangiser and between my wife, Jackie Crawford, and myself we own Red Hill Cellars in Medford.

We started Red Hill Cellars in 2016, and that was just to understand the business a little bit more because we're service providers of the Oregon wine industry. Our business does compliance consulting, storage, and helps with DTC shipping. We purchased Jaxon [wine brand] in October of 2022. Before that, I was a Teamster truck driver for 28 years.

I'm a native Oregonian, my wife is too. I didn't grow up knowing much about wine or even in my adult life. I wasn't a huge wine consumer probably until my forties, when I moved to Yamhill Valley in Newberg. In my previous employment I worked among the wineries, got to know the industry, and here we are today.

Q: Where do you sell your wine, or where is it served?

A: The wine we sell right now is at restaurants, bottle shops, and bars. I don't have any retail placements out of the Rogue Valley right now, but we are looking at possible placement in the Bend market.

Q: What was the driving factor that attracted you to Rogue Valley Wine Country specifically, and what sets this region apart for you?

A: Well, what attracted me at first was business. I was looking to open a storage warehouse, but also the area here, there's so much diversity as far as climate and there are so many different varietals and cool ways wine is being made. This is just a diverse area. I mean, that's what kind of attracted me to it. It's a lot different than Willamette Valley, where it's Pinot and Chard, and a few other things. There's also a lot less rain down here and it's not as cold so we kind of like that.

I hadn't been down here since I was a kid and probably about six years ago, we were on our way down to Yosemite for a week and we were on our way back and we booked a couple of nights here just to visit compliance clients. After seeing clients, we thought this place was awesome. [Different] than I remember from visiting it when I was a kid. So, it kind of put an idea in my head, and then I kept talking to more people. We just decided that we'd rather expand our business down here.

Q: Could you describe any unique characteristics that you have in the quality of your wines?

A: Probably the main characteristic is just the winemaking. I must thank Kiley Evans at Padigan for a lot of that because he's helped with a lot of it and I'm happy with the results that I got. So, for everything he's made, I've got exceptional reviews and awards. People who try it have been happy with it too.

Q: What are your future goals for evolving your wine brand?

A: The next step would probably be a tasting room. We're not sure about that yet. It just costs a lot of money to set something like that up. It is something that we need to do. We need to have a venue, because I get phone calls every week asking if we are open, and I know that I just missed a sale because of that.

Q: Are there any special releases that you're doing or projects you're working on?

A: I have added another brand called Freckle Pony that's a sub-brand for Red Hill Cellars. It was inspired by my wife Jackie's Appaloosa mare named Peach. I also created a new brand called Bella Canis. It has a picture of my dog Bella on it. Right now, Bella Canis is a bulk wine keg brand. We might eventually start bottling under that. I’m not sure yet. We'll see how things go.

Where to find their wines:

Central Point
Rogue Creamery
Local Vines Wine Bar

Jacksonville
Jacksonville Inn Wine Shop
C Street Bistro
Bella Union
Gogi's Restaurant

Medford
Medford Co-op
Spirits World
Pomodori
Food 4 Less
Harry & David
Cicily's
Jefferson's Spirits
Southside Beverage Shop
Spring Street Market
Springhill Suites/Townplace
Margo's
Rogue Regency - Chadwick’s
Wild River
Kaleidoscope
Bambu
Lady Geneva
Market of Choice
Compass Hotel
Rogue Valley Manor
Centennial Golf Club
Hilton Garden Inn
The Wharf

Talent
The Grotto
Talent Liquor Store
Gather
Arbor House

Ashland
Market of Choice
Shop N Kart
Press for Oil
Ashland Food Co-op
Ashland Springs Hotel
Blue Giraffe
Bloomsbury Blends
Callahan's
Growler Guys
Ashland Liquor Store
Black Sheep
Lithia Springs Resort