Celebrating Twenty Vintages
A unique, beautiful vineyard in Oregon's Chehalem Mountains.
In Memoriam
Warren Dayle “Nick” Nicholas
April 22, 1940 – January 2, 2026
Nick was born in Lodi, California to Warren and Hilda Nicholas. He attended Lodi High and became the first in his family to attend college, graduating from San Jose State with a Business degree in 1963.
The first of his four careers took him to Los Angeles and the Watts neighborhood where he supervised a team of food processors while caught up in the riots, then to London in 1978 as the European Marketing Manager for a subsidiary of Colgate Palmolive. It was in London that he met Sheila Macrae and they were married in Cambridge Massachusetts on Memorial Day, 1981.
In 1983, Nick and Sheila moved west to join two Californian fraternity brothers in the pizza business eventually purchasing a family-style restaurant in the Napa Valley where they worked side-by-side. Trading pizzas for wine, they acquired an enviable cellar, which led to a quest for vineyard property. Opportunity, the wine community and the draw of Pinot Noir enticed them to Oregon’s Willamette Valley in 2001 where they settled on a 70-acre overgrown orchard with perfect vineyard potential in the hills above Newberg.
Nick and Sheila lived in the property’s original farmhouse while they planted their first vines. Over time, they planted 30 acres to Pinot Noir with a small acre each of Riesling and Gewurztraminer and Nick became a tractor expert.
Together, they created and bottled Nicholas Estate wines under their Anam Cara label, taking inspiration for the name from the book “Anam Cara, a book of Celtic Wisdom” and its message of connection between bonded souls, time and place. At age 75, Nick took a step back from being the solo tractor driver and sold a large part of the vineyard, only to plant an additional 5 acres of Pinot, Chardonnay and Riesling and continue wines for Anam Cara.
The couple announced their retirement from making wine in 2023.
Nick will be remembered for his direct and honest personality, deep and enduring love for his family, his story telling, tenacity and for never taking the easy route with his ventures.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Sheila, daughter Heather (Richard) and son Mark. His brothers Darvin (Susan) and Roger (Brenda) live in Lodi along with numerous terrific nieces and nephews.
In May, he would have become a Grandpa for the first time at age 86.
Celebrations of Life will be held in both Newberg and Lodi, and details will be shared shortly.
In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to the Rotary Club of Newberg Early Birds.
Kindly note that our Newberg tasting room is now closed.
Nick and Sheila Nicholas made wines from the grapes they first planted on Nicholas Estate Vineyard. Over time, they adapted their organic farming practices to reflect the rhythm of the vines and fine-tuned their wine making to reflect this unique part of the Willamette Valley.
After more than 20 years, they stepped back from winemaking to focus on the vineyard.
