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Natalie's Estate WineryNatalie's Estate 5

Cassandra and Boyd Teegarden have been a part of the First Federal family for many years. They are well known for not only their award-winning winery, Natalie’s Estate, but also for their dedication to their community. Though COVID-19 created some hardships for their businesses, they persevered. Check out their story:

They knew winemaking was in their future when they migrated to Newberg, Oregon from Florida in 1999. Finding the right community was very important, which was what led them to the Yamhill Valley. Boyd, who grew up working in the fields, took to the winemaking while Cassandra took to running the day-to-day business operations, and together they make a great team.

Natalie's Estate 4As their business grew, they recognized that they needed to have a closer relationship with their bank and lender. “I wanted to find a small local branch where I could start up an authentic relationship with the bank. Ron and Cindy were unbelievably helpful to work with,” Cassandra states. “First Federal gave us incredible terms even though we were kind of unusual because not only do we have the winery, but we have several smaller businesses as well. I needed a number of accounts for each one and they adapted to each one’s needs tremendously. Their openness to supporting us as a small business has been amazing.”

“When COVID-19 happened, I was really unsure of how long we were going to be closed down for. It was really scary because I was seeing other small businesses close down permanently. I went to Cindy and she helped us get a loan and a mortgage payment deferral because I wasn’t sure how things were going to play out,” Cassandra says. “Because of that loan, I was able to sleep at night.”

Natalie's Estate 3During the shutdown, Cassandra took the time to revamp the tasting room. Decorating the space with family memorabilia from the early days of silent films, the newest addition to the tasting room is “Old Hollywood” themed. Be sure to ask her about her families’ history in the era of Vaudeville and silent films.

Natalie’s Estate Winery is based in Newberg, OR and is named after their only child. They have 17 varietals that they grow across Oregon. Over their 20+ years in the winemaking industry, they’ve also built up a consulting business, Vine to Vinter Consulting, where they work with startup vineyards and help them get established, plant and develop the land, negotiate contracts, marketing and sales development, and much more. You can visit their website at wwww.nataliesestatewinery.com or contact Cassandra directly at 503-807-5008 to learn more.

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Photos courtesy of Kirkpatrick's Graphics.

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