Cristom Vineyards

“Cristom’s philosophy is about letting the land make the wines.”
Paul Gerrie, founder and owner

Paul and Eileen Gerrie came from Pittsburgh in the early 1990s, and they brought with them a burning desire to grow grapes and make wine. In collaboration with winemaker Steve Doerner, they succeeded, but in the process, they didn’t forget their roots. When you’re at Cristom Vineyards, make a point of examining their logo. It’s a collage of images that includes coins, a duck decoy, a totem pole, rifle, pocket watch, Mount Hood, a hat, a boar’s head and other meaningful memorabilia from the Gerries’ past and their newfound home in Oregon. By the way, I think the boar’s head is very cool.

Family is obviously important to Paul and Eileen. The winery’s name is derived from the names of their two children, “Christine” and “Tom,” and the half-dozen pinot vineyards you see from the tasting-room deck are named after family matriarchs Marjorie, Louise, Jessie, Eileen, Emilia, and Germaine. Even the antique rough-hewn mahogany doors at the entrance remind visitors that tradition lives on at Cristom Vineyards.

“The winemaker’s job is to optimize what nature — the vineyard — provides.”
Steve Doerner, Cristom winemaker

Steve carefully crushes estate grapes, ferments with native yeasts and relies on nature to flow wines from fermenter to barrels by using gravity. He is a minimalist and uses a hands-off winemaker style, always striving to taste the vineyard’s nuances. With a view of Mount Jefferson in the distance, visitors can sample wines described in their literature as “smooth, elegant, and subtle,” including viognier, chardonnay, pinot gris, syrah, and pinot noir.

By the end of my visit, I had created a mental collage of Cristom Vineyards to help me remember this special place. My collage includes images of large wine glasses (I love it when tasting rooms use the big glasses), views of Mount Jefferson in the distance, the lovely Eola Hills, well-groomed vineyards, massive entrance doors, an antique phone on the wall, and beautiful flower beds populating the property.