Ron Tilden, CPA, is an accounting professor at the University of Washington Bothell. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Ron moved to Washington during his junior year of high school. In 1979, Ron graduated from the University of Washington’s accounting program, later going back for his Executive MBA.

When not teaching and introducing young people to the accounting profession, Ron’s greatest joy is being outdoors. He was quite athletic in his youth, playing baseball and bicycling. Ron has since picked up another hobby: wine-making.

Ron made his first batch of wine in 2006. A friend of his invited Ron to join his wine-making group. Through his new connections, Ron bought 100 pounds of grapes in his first year. Now, Ron buys one ton of grapes every year, enough to make 25 cases each of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ron does his wine-making with his brother Brad, CEO of Alaska Airlines, and their friend Kelly Lang from Portland. They began their careers in public accounting, so the label for their wines is Abacus, named after the beaded counting tool.

The wine-making itself is a bit labor intensive, mainly in the fall, when the harvest, crush, and fermentation occur. “We always make at least one trip a year over to the vineyard in Eastern Washington where our grapes are grown,” explained Ron. “We even sometimes help them harvest our grapes.”

Ron is careful not to reveal too many trade secrets, but he did say that if one buys good grapes and French barrels, it is fairly easy to make a decent wine. With such a great quantity produced each year, Ron gives much of his wine away for family weddings, work events, and other celebrations. In the future, Ron hopes to expand the variety of wines he makes. “I’m cutting back my work schedule at UWB in the fall, so I might have time to add new varietals other than just Merlot and Cabernet.”

Outside of wine-making, Ron still enjoys bicycling, although he admits to slowing down as he gets older. “Just like in the CPA community, you meet great people on bicycles,” said Ron. “I heard a friend say once, ‘it’s hard to find a jerk on a bike’ and that’s really true.”

Ron often goes biking with his brothers. Together, they’ve covered thousands of miles over the years in several different countries. Soon, Ron and his brothers will be traveling to Italy for another family bike trip.

Ron lives with his wife Gail in Woodinville, in the same home they lived in for the past thirty years. They are empty nesters, but their three children come by often to visit. As for the future, they both plan to stay in Woodinville, enjoying “more of the same: teaching, biking, hanging out with the family, and drinking wine.”

Cory Wilmarth is the Communication, Design, and Social Media Coordinator for the WSCPA. To nominate a member to be featured in the next member profile, you can contact him at cwilmarth@wscpa.org.

This article appears in the fall 2018 issue of the WashingtonCPA Magazine. Read more here.