Honoring Julia Lee Knudsen this Mother’s Day

Before the vines, before the view, there was our mother who believed in building something lasting. Something to be cared for, returned to, and carried forward.

Julia Lee Roderick was born in 1925, at a time when the life paths available to women were often narrow. From the beginning, she built a life that was both independent and expansive. She graduated from the University of Washington and went on to teach elementary school in Brooklyn, New York, bringing warmth, curiosity, and care into the lives of her students.

Those who knew her described her as lively, generous, and deeply engaging. She brought a natural energy to everything she did, grounded by a strong sense of independence. It was this balance that shaped the life she would go on to build with her husband, C. Calvert “Cal” Knudsen. Whom she married in 1950.

Julia Lee and Cal built a partnership that felt remarkably modern for its time. They shared decisions, ideas, and a long-term vision that eventually led them to the red hills of Dundee, Oregon.

In 1971, they purchased a 200-acre former walnut orchard and began transforming it into what would become Knudsen Vineyards.

Always, the vineyard was shaped by family. Julia Lee and Cal raised four children—Cal Jr., Page, Colin, David—and the vineyard grew alongside them. It became part of their shared story, a place tied to memory, effort, and a long-term vision that extended well beyond a single season.

Julia Lee had a natural love for planting and for watching things take root. She approached the vineyard with patience and care, the same qualities that defined her as a mother. What she built was not only a vineyard, but a foundation. One grounded in connection, stewardship, and the belief that meaningful things are developed over time.

Her influence reaches far beyond the early days of the Willamette Valley. She helped shape a philosophy that still guides the vineyard today, one rooted in family, intention, and a deep respect for the land.

Julia Lee passed away in 1990 at the family’s cabin on the vineyard she helped create. Her presence, however, remains. It lives on in the land and in the generations who continue her work.

A block of French Dijon clone Chardonnay, known as Julia Lee’s Block, was named in her honor. A quiet tribute, rooted in the same soil she once helped cultivate.

Today, that legacy is still very much alive. In every bottle of the JLK Chardonnay, her story continues. The vineyard continues to be led by her four children as owner-operators, with several grandchildren now stepping into the business and carrying it forward into a third generation.

This Mother’s Day, we honor the woman who helped inspire it all.

Deep roots begin with someone willing to plant them – our mother, Julie Lee Knudsen.