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It took seven years for Mo Momtazi to find a chunk of land in the Willamette Valley that reminded him of his childhood, where his grandparents grew crops on lush farmland in Northern Iran. Northern Iran?
"I always wanted to get into agriculture, like my grandparents," said Momtazi, a design engineer by day, and winery owner/grape grower by day and night. "I remember the tastes and flavors of my childhood and for the most part, my grandparents didn't interfere with Mother Nature. His grandparents refused to use chemicals and fertilizers in the soil or on the plants. "I wanted to do the same." Momtazi found his dream farm just west of McMinnville in 1997 and began planting grapes in 1998. His first intention was to grow and sell grapes on the 522 acres, and slowly build a winery-Maysara Estates. Wine industry insiders first identified Maysara is a sleeper winery with a vineyard of great potential in 2000, and word of mouth spread quickly in the Northwest. Some of the best Oregon wineries purchase Momtazi Vineyard fruit and make vineyard designate wines from the grapes.
Other wineries purchasing Maysara grapes include: St. Innocent, Bergstrom, Sam Tannahill (Shea Vineyards) for his own label with his wife, Cheryl Francis, Andrew Rich, Adea, Tori Moore, Elk Cove, J. Christopher and Rex Hill, among others. Momtazi's daughter Tahmiene, is the winemaker at Maysara. She studied enology and fermentation at Oregon State University. His other two daughters, Naseem and Hanna, get called upon during harvest, along with his wife Flora.
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Despite the fact that most Americans picture Iran
as a desert with mounds of sand, a dry, arid climate, and no water, Northern
Iran, near the Caspian Sea, has thick forests, green valleys, and a picturesque
mountain range. It is an area where Momtazi's grandparents grew tea, rice,
wheat and wine grapes. 
The list of wineries lining up to purchase Maysara
grapes is impressive. Lynn Penner-Ash, one of Oregon's top winemakers,
said she was surprised at the intensity and balance of such young fruit
and predicts Maysara will rank highly with the best Oregon Pinot Noir
in the years to come. 
