Former Ponzi Vineyards Chief Brand Officer brings more than 15 years of Oregon wine leadership to the acclaimed Willamette Valley estate
September 28, 2026 (Newberg, OR) — Nicolas-Jay, the acclaimed Oregon wine partnership between winemaker Jean-Nicolas Méo of Burgundy’s Méo-Camuzet and visionary music entrepreneur Jay Boberg, is proud to announce the appointment of Carrie Kalscheuer, CWE, as General Manager. A respected Oregon wine industry leader with more than 15 years of experience, Kalscheuer will lead Nicolas-Jay’s brand, national sales, and customer-experience strategy alongside Méo and Boberg.
The appointment comes as Nicolas-Jay enters an exciting period of growth. Over the last decade, the winery has established itself among the Willamette Valley’s leading producers of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, earning international critical acclaim and building a presence in top restaurants and wine markets around the globe, including France, the U.K., Japan, China, and South Korea.
“I have observed and admired Carrie’s impact in the wine business in the Willamette Valley for many years,” shared Nicolas-Jay Co-founder Jay Boberg.
“She has all the skills and experience to run a top tier winery and her relationships within the industry run deep. Carrie is one of the most beloved wine people in the Willamette Valley, and Jean-Nicolas and I are very lucky to have her joining the Nicolas-Jay team.”
Kalscheuer brings extensive experience building and leading some of Oregon wine’s most recognized brands. Drawn west by Oregon Pinot Noir, she moved to the Willamette Valley in 2010 and joined REX HILL and A to Z Wineworks as Direct Sales Manager. Within three years, she had advanced to Director of Sales and Education, ultimately spending 13 years with the company and serving on its five-person executive team. Her work encompassed executive oversight of the REX HILL brand and direct-to-consumer sales as well as national distributor education and partnerships.
In 2023, Kalscheuer joined Ponzi Vineyards as Chief Brand Officer, overseeing direct sales and marketing and representing the historic Oregon winery nationally and internationally as part of the Groupe Bollinger portfolio. After leaving Ponzi Vineyards in late 2025, she founded Studio DTC, a consultancy focused on brand, sales, and customer-experience strategy for wineries and consumer brands.
For Kalscheuer, joining Nicolas-Jay brings her career back to the catalyst that first drew her to Oregon: a belief in the potential of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. “I’ve admired the Nicolas-Jay brand and team for years,” said Kalscheuer. “When the chance came to build alongside them in-house, I didn’t hesitate. This estate is poised for a steep climb, and getting to help shape that is exactly the work I love.”
Kalscheuer is a Certified Wine Educator through the Society of Wine Educators, a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, and a WSET Level 3 graduate with Distinction. An active member of the Oregon wine community, she currently serves on the ¡Salud! Steering Committee and has previously served as a Willamette Valley Wineries Association Board Director, Chair of Oregon Pinot Camp, and President of the Chehalem Mountains Winegrowers.
For more information, please visit nicolas-jay.com.
ABOUT NICOLAS-JAY
Nicolas-Jay is a winery born from the longtime friendship of Jean-Nicolas Méo of the famed Domaine Méo-Camuzet, and visionary music entrepreneur Jay Boberg. Nicolas-Jay’s regional cuvées are a thoughtful collection of premium sustainably farmed vineyards, and the winery has four single vineyard designate bottlings: Bishop Creek, Nysa, Temperance Hill, and Momtazi. Chardonnay was added to Nicolas-Jay’s offerings in 2017, both an estate bottling and a regional cuvée, Affinités. With the 2021 vintage, a new single vineyard designate from Spirit Hill Vineyard joined the collection of fine Willamette Valley Chardonnay from the winery. In 2019, Méo and Boberg purchased a 53-acre site in the Dundee Hills AVA, a location with some of the deepest Jory soils in the region, and began converting the existing barn to a winery and tasting room. Nicolas-Jay planted its first vines on the estate vineyard and launched the new tasting room in 2021. Nicolas-Jay wines are distributed nationally and available in overseas markets like Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. For more information, please visit nicolas-jay.com.
