The Maysara Winery, based in McMinnville, Oregon, stands out among West Coast wineries. While Maysara’s founder fled persecution in Iran, he retained a commitment to ancient Persian values of holistic winemaking.
As a child, Maysara’s Moe Momtazi learned from his grandfather in northern Iran. He learned how all aspects of an environment can work together to renew the Earth’s natural agricultural cycles. Today, thousands of miles away in Oregon, Momtazi applies these same values in a thriving winery he runs with his wife and daughters.
The 560-acre winery specializes in rich pinot noir wines, which are distributed in 33 states. While Maysara produces 18,000 cases of wine per year, the winery focuses primarily on local distribution and events, including weddings and wine tastings.
Moe Momtazi Fled Iran with His Pregnant Wife
Momtazi credits his first agricultural lessons to his grandfather. “My parents would send me up north to the Caspian Sea to spend the summer with my grandparents,” he remembers. “My grandfather taught me about holistic farming, and that our life really depends on what we consume.”
After earning an engineering degree in the US, he returned to Iran with his wife Flora and started an engineering company. But the couple’s plans changed after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. With Flora eight months pregnant, they fled to Pakistan in 1982.
“We left through the mountains on motorcycles,” Momtazi recalls. “It was really scary – and extremely difficult, because Flora was so pregnant. People were chasing us. The sun was very strong in the mountains, and she got big, painful blisters under her eyes. We got caught on the border by Pakistani officers, who threatened to turn us in. Those things never really disappear from your mind.”
Maysara Winery Inspired by Moe Momtazi’s Upbringing
After traveling first through Spain and Mexico, the Momtazis eventually found their way to Oregon. The rich landscape reminded Momtazi of the green areas by the Caspian Sea. As these memories returned, he recalled that the ancient Persians considered grapevines and wine to be gifts from the heavens.
All this inspired Maysara, which means “winery” in ancient Persian. When he arrived in Oregon, Momtazi purchased 496 acres of an abandoned wheat farm. He decided to give it new life as a vineyard. This new venture was a family effort: Moe, Flora, and their three daughters all work and live on the vineyard.
“Ever since childhood, I had a passion for farming and growing things,” says Momtazi.
While Maysara began as a small family endeavor, the vineyard has flourished in the rich Willamette Valley. Their specialty pinot noirs ship all around the globe, and fans can sign up for their subscription service to receive hand-picked bottles of wine by mail.
For Moe Momtazi, Wine Makes Itself
Momtazi recalls that the clerics who led the Iranian revolution placed many restrictions. “When the Islamists came they said you can drink wine only in paradise,” Momtazi reflects. “But wine stayed in our blood. In the old country, we don’t have a word for winemaker. We believe the wine makes itself.”
With this in mind, Momtazi believes that the best wine comes from the most natural approach. The family grows their own herbs and create their own fertilizer and compost. 95% of the products Maysara uses come from recycled and reused materials.
“We try to make wines that are pure, honest, and express a sense of place without manipulating them,” Momtazi says. “We let the vintage and Mother Nature express themselves.”
