Mike Bayliss is the farmer, founder, and winegrower at Ghost Hill Cellars. After more than 79 years on the property, Mike often says he’s “never gotten anywhere.” In actual fact, he has managed to keep the Bayliss farm sustainable and under family ownership over seven decades. If his father hadn’t refused to plant wine grapes in the late 1970s, Mike would have been one of the pioneer Pinot Noir growers in the Willamette Valley. He finally realized his dream in 1999, when, on the eve of his daughter Bernadette’s wedding to Cam Bower, he and his new son-in-law hatched plans over drinks in Hong Kong to plant a vineyard in what is now called Savannah Ridge. Today, Mike still manages all farming operations for Ghost Hill Cellars and handles nearly all the tractor work himself. His portrait appears on every label of Prospector’s Reserve Pinot Noir. cambower@ghosthillcellars.com https://www.ghosthillcellars.com/
What’s the ONE THING most unique, authentic, memorable about your winery brand?
When we got into the wine business in 2006 after farming grapes since 1999, we knew we had a unique story to tell. We were one of the first 5th generation family farms to venture into wine grape growing and winemaking. Because of our long history on the property, we knew of a ghost haunting our property as had been told by generations. A miner passing through our property was killed along with our horse by bandits on Oak Springs Farm Road in the late 1800s. They stole his gold and killed his horse, and the spirits of both have been seen on the hill searching for their gold and the man who took their lives ever since. When we were searching for our wine identity, we immediately gravitated to our history and the ghost on the hill.
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained. Sky’s the limit!
My dream has always been to share our history and preserve our farm for future generations. I want to use my remaining years on Earth to see that that happens. My dream is to have my direct descendants running this farm and continuing to tell our story for future generations. To make that happen, we need to achieve success, which means having people visit, buy our wines and experience the story of Bayliss Farm and Ghost Hill for themselves. I have never had anything to call my own but this farm and I want to share it with others. We are focused on quality wine and family.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and/or winemaking style? Tell us its story.
Of course, we are very proud of our Pinots, but our Pinot Noir Blanc has always been sort of our flagship wine. When we planted our vineyard in 1999, we only planted Pinot Noir. As we became more and more popular and people started to visit our farmhouse to taste wine, we realized we should have planted some white wine grapes. One of our family friends suggested we do Pinot Noir Blanc from the Pinot Noir grape. We tried it, and immediately received high scores, awards, and more importantly rave reviews from our customers. It’s been a highlight of our tasting menu ever since. Click here to see this wine review.
Bonus Question – What’s the one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?
When I was a young man back in the 70s, my instincts told me to plant Pinot Noir grapes on our farm in Carlton. I even took a class at Chemeketa College to learn the fundamentals of viticulture. When I was ready, I approached my father about planting Pinot Noir on our farm. He was still the patriarch, and he had the final decision. He told me there was no way he would allow grapes to be planted on our farm. I had to wait another 25 years to realize my dream of planting Pinot Noir on the Bayliss Farm.