Rollin Soles

Rollin Soles founded Oregon's sparkling wine movement when he built its first sparkling house, Argyle Winery, in 1987. He has been crafting top tier sparkling wines for over three decades earning accolades from Wine Spectator and building Argyle into a national success. His pioneering spirit put Oregon’s Willamette Valley on the map for Methode Champenoise sparkling wines.

Texas-born Soles, first fell in love with Oregon’s Willamette Valley in 1979 when he was a graduate student at UC Davis and knew he belonged there. It took him nearly a decade – working and learning in Europe and Australia - before he would return and co-found Argyle with Brian Croser, who he met while working at Croser’s Petaluma winery in Australia.

Soles spent 27 years as general manager and winemaker at Argyle. In 2003, he and his wife, Corby, started their own winery, ROCO, where his innovative spirit continues to raise the bar on Oregon sparkling wine. They released their first sparkling wine in 2013.

What sparkling wines are you loving right now?

Vilmart Brut Rosé Rubis [NV] is such a complete, delicate, elegant rosé. It’s not easy to make an elegant rosé and this is a perfect example.

What does sparkling wine symbolize for you?

Sparkling wine symbolizes joy and kindness. It lifts up the entire room. When you’re in a restaurant and you order a bottle and the waiter pops the cork, everyone notices, and it brightens the whole room. Or if you put a glass of bubbles in front of someone, they start to shine. That’s joy.

If you bring a beautiful bottle of sparkling wine to your friends, you are the kindest person. Or if a waiter in a restaurant says, “Let me pour you some sparkling wine on the house,” everybody at the table lights up. That’s kindness.