John and Kathy Zelko: Oral History Interview

The Oregon Wine History Archive Podcast

This interview is with John and Kathy Zelko of Z'ivo Wines. In this interview, John and Kathy speak about meeting in college and pursuing their primary careers: John as a surgeon, and Kathy as a lawyer. John speaks about finding wine as a fun and meaningful diversion, and about starting as a volunteer helper before starting to make his own wine.

John and Kathy share stories of the trials and tribulations of making and selling their small label, as well as some of the people they worked with and became friends with. And they discuss how they saw the Oregon wine industry grow and evolve, as well as what led them to sell their vineyard in 2020.

This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt on August 6, 2024 at Linfield University in McMinnville.