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"Letting the land make the wines” |
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CRISTOM VINEYARDS Cristom’s
founder and owner, Paul Gerrie, used his skills as an engineer and avid
reseacher to pursue his passion for wine. On his travels to France, he
was introduced to the traditional growing practices of the Burgundy
region. He learned that soil (terroir) and site were key in
developing the complexity of the fruit. After
a 1991 visit to the International Pinot Celebration in Oregon, Paul
decided that time was right to leave the East Coast and bring his family
and passion for great Pinot Noir to Oregon’s burgeoning wine country.
But their jouney wasn’t complete without a winemaker who shared
Paul’s vision of “letting the land make the wines.” Enter Steve
Doerner who, after a quarter century of experience, still believes the
winemaker’s job is to “optimize what nature -the vineyard -
provides.” In addition to his reputation as a master winemaker with
“keen intuition” (possibly from his French heritage), Steve is a
biochemist who had been making wine in California. An
so with a passion that only wine enthusiasts embrace and a precision
that can only come from a chemist and an engineer, the two set out to
cultivate their vision, which today, can be seen in the seven district
vineyards on Cristom’s 65 acres. |
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