Winery Focus

Cristom
The Cristom Story: Cristom’s founder and owner, Paul Gerrie, used his skills as an engineer and avid researcher 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 and site were key in developing the complexity of the fruit.

After a 1991 visit to the International Pinot Celebration in Oregon, Paul decided the time was right to leave the East Coast and bring his family and his passion for great Pinot Noir to Oregon’s burgeoning wine country.

But their journey 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.

And 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 distinct vineyards on Cristom’s 65 acres.

As are most trained scientists, Paul and Steve are keen observers. While they are still advocates of tradition, they continually experiment both in the vineyards and in the cellar. A recent example is the introduction of Viognier to the Willamette Valley. Cristom was one of the first to plant it, even though conventional wisdom assumed the climate was too wet. “We planted it on our sunniest acre and got nice vintages right away,” explained Steve.

Cristom cultivates eight distinct vineyards growing Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Viognier and Syrah totaling 65 plantable acres. The vineyards are dry farmed with the focus on quality fruit with low yields and high density planting. Their Pinot Vineyards are named in honor of family matriarchs: Marjorie, Louise, Jessie, Eileen, Emilia, and Germaine. In addition to “The Ladies,” they have two other vineyards dedicated to varietals that are new to the Willamette Valley: Viognier and Syrah.

What's Available

	Cristom Mt. Jefferson Pinot Noir 2007 Price $32.00  $32 / bottle Read More...	Available 127 bottles Qty
	Cristom Pinot Gris 2007 Price $19.00  $19 / bottle Read More...	Available 136 bottles Qty
	Cristom Pinot Noir Eileen 2007 Price $51.00  $51 / bottle Read More...	Available 141 bottles Qty
	Cristom Pinot Noir Jessie 2007 Price $51.00  $51 / bottle Read More...	Available 143 bottles Qty
	Cristom Pinot Noir Louise 2006 Price $51.00  $51 / bottle Read More...	Available 113 bottles Qty
	Cristom Pinot Noir Marjorie 2007 Price $54.00  $54 / bottle The '07 Marjorie is a complex, multi-layered and lengthy pinot noir with scads of fruit, plenty of acidity, and some spicy tannins that come from adding some stems from whole fruit clusters into the fermentation. The flavors are mixed red and black fruits, and the wine overall shimmers with a vibrancy that cannot be dismissed. In the glass, it's approachable now and has both a dense core component and another layer that is more open-knit now. This is approachable, but will clearly age for an indeterminate time. The fact is, I cannot recall having a Cristom pinot that was over the hill. Only recently I had a '97 bottling and a '99, and both were delicious, with room for further development. Decant and drink this now, or cellar for awhile. It will be good when you get around to drinking it. Read More...	Available 56 bottles Qty
	Cristom Syrah 2006 Price $32.00  $32 / bottle Read More...	Available 141 bottles Qty
	Cristom Viognier Estate Eola-Amity Hills 2007 Price $28.00  $28 / bottle, 90 points from Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar: "Medium straw. Dried lemon, pear skin, honeysuckle and minerals on the nose; smells more like marsanne or roussanne than viognier. Chewy, medium-bodied citrus and orchard fruit flavors give way to succulent melon and fresh pineapple with air and pick up an exotic anise quality. The finish is dry and mineral-driven, leaving dusty lemon pith and pear notes behind. This is strikingly uncompromising for New World viognier and would be excellent with roasted birds or strong cheeses." Read More...	Available 39 bottles Qty
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