Cristom Vineyards

Cristom Vineyards is responsible for some of the purest, prettiest and most acutely site-specific Pinot Noirs the USA has to offer.  

With its diverse soils and climate moderated by the Pacific (just 36 miles away), Oregon’s Willamette Valley looks a natural fit for Pinot and Chardonnay; as it’s consistently proved in the three decades plus since the Gerrie family established Cristom.  

Covering 240 acres, including pasture and woodland as well as 90 acres of vines, the property is farmed biodynamically, with a keen eye on biodiversity and regeneration.     

In terms of winemaking, the Gerries point to Domaine Dujac as their greatest influence. Visiting Jacques Seysses in Morey Saint Denis convinced Cristom’s first winemaker Steve Doerner that, ‘whole clusters bring another level of complexity to the aromatics and an additional dimension of tannin to the palate and help the wines to better express the identity of their terroirs.’    

The use of natural yeast and whole clusters (approximately 50% for the single vineyard Pinots) remain tenets under Cristom’s present-day winemakers, headed by Tom Gerrie, the son of founders Eileen and Paul. 

As well as five single vineyard Pinot Noirs, the range includes the outstanding Mount Jefferson, an earlier-drinking blend that is, for our money, of the best value Pinots made anywhere on the planet. Whites represent a small proportion of Cristom’s production, but the flinty, saline Eola-Amity Chardonnay is not to be overlooked.