Cristom Vineyards is an

Oregon wine The state of Oregon in the United States has established an international reputation for its production of wine, ranking fourth in the country behind California, Washington, and New York. Oregon has several different growing regions within the s ...

producer and

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

based near

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

, U.S. It is in the Eola-Amity Hills wine region within the

Willamette Valley AVA The Willamette Valley AVA ( ) is an American Viticultural Area which lies in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The AVA is the wine growing region which encompasses the drainage basin of the Willamette River. It stretches from the Columbia Rive ...

, about northwest of Keizer.

History

Paul Gerrie, an engineer based in Pittsburgh, was searching for suitable land in North and South America to open a winery. Trips to France to pursue his passion for wine had exposed him to the French concept of

terroir (, ; from ''terre'', "land") is a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, these conte ...

and its importance in Burgundy. He visited Oregon in 1991 for the

International Pinot Noir Celebration International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

and decided that it would be an ideal location. Mike Etzel, the owner of Beaux Frères, also in the Willamette Valley, was hired as a consultant to look for an appropriate location. In 1992, Paul and Eileen Gerrie purchased the abandoned Pellier Winery site in the Spring Valley region of

Polk County Polk County is the name of twelve counties in the United States, all except two named after president of the United States James Knox Polk: * Polk County, Arkansas * Polk County, Florida * Polk County, Georgia * Polk County, Iowa * Polk Count ...

and established Cristom Vineyards. The existing vineyards were in a state of disrepair and all but one of them needed to be replanted. The first vintage was produced in 1992 from grapes purchased from other local vineyards. The vineyards were replanted from 1993 to 1996. with the first vintage from the estate owned vineyards bottled in 1994. Cristom's current winemaker is Steve Doerner, who joined the winery as head winemaker for its first vintage. Doerner graduated in 1978 from the University of California, Davis with a degree in biochemistry and had spent 14 years at the Californian

Calera Wine Company Calera may refer to: Places *Calera, Alabama *Calera, Oklahoma *Calera, Chile *Calera de Tango, Chile *Calera de Víctor Rosales, Mexico * Calera de León, Spain *Calera y Chozas, Spain Other uses *Calera Capital Calera Capital is a private equ ...

, specializing in working with

Pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

, as well as studying under Jacques Seysses, owner and winemaker at Domaine Dujac in

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

before being appointed winemaker at Cristom in 1992. Doerner was the first established winemaker from the California wine industry to move to Oregon, and has been followed by many others since. After having established himself as winemaker at Cristom, Doerner was made a partner in the business. The estate is named after Paul and Eileen Gerrie's children, being a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words Cristom has eight estate owned vineyards, with an area of . Six of the vineyards are named after family matriarchs. ''Marjorie'' is the only vineyard that was not replanted in the years following the purchase of the winery. It is named after Paul Gerrie's mother. The vines were originally planted in 1982, and there are of Pinot noir. The initial single vineyard wine from this location was from the 1994 vintage. ''Louise'' is named after Paul Gerrie's maternal grandmother and was the first vineyard to finish being replanted with of Pinot noir. The first single vineyard wine was the 1996 vintage. ''Jessie'' is named for Paul Gerrie's paternal grandmother and was planted with of Pinot noir in 1994. The first release was the 1998 vintage. ''Eileen'', is named after Paul Gerrie's wife, the co-founder and co-owner of the estate. This is the highest elevation Cristom vineyard which slopes from . of Pinot noir were planted in 1997 in this vineyard. The first vintage released was in 2000. Shiraz Grapes

Two other vineyards are planted at the estate with Northern Rhone varieties that are unusual for the Willamette Valley region which is primarily known for Pinot noir. These are a

Viognier Viognier () is a white wine grape variety. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu in the Rhône Valley.J. Robinson ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 754 Oxford University Press 2006 Outside of the Rhôn ...

vineyard planted in 1993 and a

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse B ...

vineyard planted in 2002. Cristom is described as a pioneer of these varieties in this region.

Wines

Pinot Noir Grapes - Cristom Vineyard - Oregon in early veraison

Cristom is best known for its Pinot noir based wines. Four single vineyard wines are produced with Pinot noir grapes from the vineyards ''Marjorie'', ''Louise'', ''Jessie'' and ''Eileen''. Cristom also produces a Pinot noir blends, the '' Mount Jefferson Cuvee'' named after a mountain visible from the winery. The ''Mount Jefferson Cuvee'' is a blend from ten different vineyards, with the best barrels of the blend being separated to be bottled as the ''Sommers Reserve'' wine. Around 3,500 cases of the ''Mount Jefferson'' and 1,250 cases of the ''"Sommers" Reserve'' are produced each year. In addition to Pinot noir, Cristom also produces a Syrah based red wine from the estate vineyard. White wines are produced from three varieties: a single vineyard Chardonnay as well as Pinot gris and Viognier. Around 18,000 cases of wine are produced each vintage, with about 1,500 of that total being white wines.

References

{{coord , 45.034775 , -123.120539 , region:US-OR_type:landmark_dim:450 , display=title Wineries in Oregon Companies based in Salem, Oregon Buildings and structures in Polk County, Oregon Food and drink companies established in 1992 1992 establishments in Oregon