Behind the vine

Ksenija Kostic House - Ovum Wines - Portland, Oregon, USA

When do you think you fell in love with wine, enough to make a career of it?

I remember early on in my 20s being exposed to a lot of wine through my husband, John. He was working for a wine distributor in Florida. Wine was always around but it didn’t really make an impact on me in a way that I ever considered making a career out of it. I was focused on the academics and prospects of attending graduate school to study genetics and immunology.

I was having doubts about my academic path and struggling to find a way forward. I needed a break, so John suggested going to Oregon to work harvest. And so, I did. It was a notorious 2007 vintage, very rainy and challenging, but I was an intern and didn’t know any better. I loved it so much. It was physically challenging, stimulating, and most importantly I loved conviviality. I fell in love with Oregon, it reminded me so much of Serbia where I grew up. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me.

John always had an infectious love for wine and at times it was hard for me to understand why but after working harvest and seeing the process it was hard to walk away from it without pausing and asking myself could this be it?

What story does your wine tell?

More than anything, I hope it conveys a place and time, independent of our winemaking process.

What misconceptions about wine do you think people should forget?

First, inexpensive wine is bad and expensive wine must be good. That is not always true. Finding value in wine is crucial, often the BEST wine will overdeliver for the price. Finding those wines can be challenging, but there are so many online tools available to a consumer today to curate wine at any budget.

Second, wine is intimidating and complicated. It’s ok to not know anything about wine and have the confidence to walk into a wine shop and mispronounce regions and varietals. Nobody cares, wine is there for you to enjoy, don’t feel intimidated asking for help. Hopefully, along the journey, you’ll discover wines that previously you would have been too embarrassed to ask about.

What great things about wine do you think people should remember?

No other beverage can transmit time and place so well, it is remarkable that way. We can travel the world without ever setting foot outside our homes through wine.

What is a piece of advice you would give to a woman interested in breaking into the wine world?

I think this should apply to anything worth pursuing in life. Commitment, ethics, hard work, and showing up. Choose to surround yourself with people who will prop you up and challenge you. Failure and mistakes are all part of the process — learn from them, pick yourself up, and move on.

Who is a woman you admire in winemaking that everyone should know about?

Oh, there are too many to name. Most of the ones who have made the most impact on me are legends in our industry, such as Elisabetta Foradori.

Where can women find your wine?

You can purchase directly through us, though we are grateful to have wonderful partners across the US. It should be easy to find our wines in restaurants, wine shops, and grocery stores such as Whole Foods. We are also in a few EU countries.