Cristom Vineyards

Paul and Eileen Gerrie established Cristom Vineyards in 1992 and named the winery and estate in honor of their children, Christine and Tom. Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, they graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and married in 1967; Paul, a petroleum engineer, founded his first natural gas company in 1974, and Eileen worked as an ICU nurse and mental health therapist. In the 1980s the couple shifted their focus to wine. Their friendship with the critic Robert Parker, whom they met in the early 1980s, led them to Mike Etzel, Parker's brother-in-law, who introduced them to the land that became Cristom. The Cristom story began in 1991, when Paul Gerrie attended Oregon's International Pinot Noir Celebration and met Etzel there. When the Gerries purchased the property in 1992, it carried an existing vineyard planted to three clones of own-rooted Pinot Noir in 1982. The Cristom logo was commissioned as a coat of arms for Paul Gerrie and created by the artist Timothy Tyler. Paul and Eileen retired in 2012, passing ownership of Cristom to their children. Tom Gerrie, who began his career at Cristom after graduating from the University of Washington in 2007, became majority owner in 2012 and in 2024 took on oversight of all departments across the business. His sister, Christine Gerrie, co-owns the winery with him.

• Established in 1992 by Paul and Eileen Gerrie; the name Cristom honors their children, Christine and Tom
• The property came with a vineyard planted to own-rooted Pinot Noir in 1982
• Paul and Eileen retired in 2012, passing ownership to their children
• Tom Gerrie, Owner and Winegrower, became majority owner in 2012 and co-owns the winery with his sister Christine

Cristom lies in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, which the winery describes as an independent volcanic island chain in the center of the Willamette Valley. The estate is about 10 miles north of Salem, 10 miles south of Dundee and about 36 miles east of the Pacific Ocean. Cristom farms 90 acres (36.4 hectares) of vines across 240 acres (97.1 hectares), including more than 76 acres (30.8 hectares) of Pinot Noir and just over 9 acres (3.7 hectares) of Chardonnay planted in three of its vineyards. The east-facing estate rises from 200 feet (61 meters) to more than 790 feet (241 meters). Afternoon breezes from the Pacific Ocean reach the estate through the Van Duzer Corridor, the lowest point in the Pacific Coast Range, quickly lowering vineyard temperatures after warm summer days. During the growing season, daytime highs and nighttime lows often differ by 35 degrees or more. The hillside is predominantly east facing on Columbia River Basalt volcanic soils, while Louise Vineyard also includes marine sediments and Missoula Flood silts. The five estate vineyards are all named for members of the founding Gerrie family. Marjorie Vineyard, named for Paul Gerrie's mother, is the vineyard that existed on the property in 1992; it has been replanted since 2004 because of phylloxera, and the 2012 Marjorie Vineyard was the last vintage made entirely from the own-rooted old vines. Louise Vineyard, named for Paul's maternal grandmother, was planted on the lower slopes beginning in 1993. Jessie Vineyard, named for his paternal grandmother Jessie Sommers Gerrie, was first planted in 1994 on a slope that drops off a 30-35% grade. Eileen Vineyard, named for co-founder Eileen Gerrie and established in 1997, sits at the highest elevation on the original property. Paul Gerrie Vineyard, on a 109-acre bench purchased in 2012 just north of the original estate, received its first Pinot Noir vines in 2014 and is now Cristom's largest vineyard at 28.86 acres (11.68 hectares).

• 90 acres (36.4 hectares) of vines on a 240-acre (97.1-hectare) estate, with more than 76 acres of Pinot Noir and just over 9 acres of Chardonnay
• Van Duzer Corridor winds and growing-season diurnal swings often of 35 degrees or more help preserve natural acidity
• Marjorie (Paul's mother, 8.42 acres), Louise (maternal grandmother, 18.19 acres), Jessie (paternal grandmother, 11.53 acres), Eileen (co-founder, 24.36 acres)
• Paul Gerrie Vineyard: purchased 2012, first Pinot Noir planted 2014, first vintage 2016, 28.86 acres

Cristom's original winemaker, Steve Doerner, made the wines at Calera Wine Company from 1978 to 1991, and Paul Gerrie hired him from Calera in 1992. A trip early in Doerner's career to stay with Jacques Seysses of Domaine Dujac in Morey-Saint-Denis helped shape the winemaking philosophy behind the Cristom style. Paul and Eileen Gerrie were themselves influenced by the single-vineyard wines of Domaine Dujac and its use of whole-cluster fermentation. Doerner began handing off Cristom's winemaking responsibilities to Daniel Estrin, formerly of Littorai, in 2019, making Estrin only the second head winemaker in the history of the estate. Estrin, now Winemaker and Vineyard Manager, joined Cristom in July 2019. He graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, in 2012 with a B.S. in Viticulture and worked for seven years under Ted Lemon at Littorai, rising to Associate Winemaker; he has also worked harvests at Red Car and Craggy Range and worked at Mount Langi Ghiran, Domaine de la Cote, Bodega Chacra and Burn Cottage. Chris Butler joined in 2019 as Enologist and Cellarmaster and was named Associate Winemaker in August 2024, and Assistant Winemaker Andy Zorzi worked his first Cristom harvest in 1996. The winery describes its style as built on site selection, low yields, whole clusters and natural fermentation from native yeast. The choice to include whole bunches depends on the site, the growing season and the age of the vines; the winery typically destems roughly half of the fruit, and the estate single-vineyard Pinot Noirs and Mt. Jefferson Cuvée are between 40% and 50% whole clusters in the final blends.

• Steve Doerner: Calera Wine Company winemaker 1978-1991, hired by Paul Gerrie in 1992
• Daniel Estrin: Winemaker and Vineyard Manager since July 2019, after seven years at Littorai under Ted Lemon
• Chris Butler: Associate Winemaker since August 2024; Andy Zorzi: Assistant Winemaker, first Cristom harvest 1996
• Whole clusters and native-yeast fermentation; estate single-vineyard Pinot Noirs and Mt. Jefferson Cuvée are 40% to 50% whole clusters

Cristom's flagship, the Mt. Jefferson Cuvée Pinot Noir, is a combination of barrels from vineyards around the Eola-Amity Hills AVA with a focus on the Cristom estate, and it is named after Mt. Jefferson, which guests can see from the estate on a clear day. Paul Gerrie Vineyard is its single largest vineyard component. Cristom also includes fruit from long-standing grower partners in the cuvée, among them Björnson Estate, Eola Springs, Holmes Hill, Seven Springs and Stiling vineyards; Cristom first purchased Pinot Noir from Seven Springs Vineyard in 1992. In the 2021 vintage the estate vineyard provided 52% of the fruit, and the wine was fermented with 44% whole clusters, aged in 20% new oak for 11 months and bottled unfined and unfiltered. The estate-focused Pinot Noirs are single-vineyard bottlings from Eileen, Jessie, Louise, Marjorie and Paul Gerrie vineyards. The winery describes Jessie as its most distinctive single-vineyard Pinot Noir, often defined by wild roses and a violet-like thread, and Louise, whose vines are collectively the oldest on the estate, as showing raspberry and blackberry fruit with tannins that can be serious but refined. Cristom has made Chardonnay since its first vintage in 1992 and made its first estate Chardonnay from Louise Vineyard in 1995. The Eola-Amity Hills Chardonnay, the flagship white, ferments naturally in barrel and spends 11 months in 20% new French oak with a full malolactic fermentation; the Louise Vineyard Chardonnay comes from one half acre of Dijon clone 95. The range also includes a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, an AVA Series of Pinot Noir from the Dundee Hills, McMinnville, Ribbon Ridge and Yamhill-Carlton viticultural areas, an Old-Vine Series of single-vineyard Pinot Noir, an Eola-Amity Hills Rosé of Pinot Noir, and three more Louise Vineyard wines: a Syrah grafted in 2002, a Pinot Gris from two clones planted between 1995 and 1996, and a Viognier first established in 1993.

• Mt. Jefferson Cuvée Pinot Noir: the flagship blend from the estate and Eola-Amity Hills grower vineyards, with Paul Gerrie Vineyard as its largest component
• Single-vineyard Pinot Noirs from Eileen, Jessie, Louise, Marjorie and Paul Gerrie vineyards
• Chardonnay: the Eola-Amity Hills Chardonnay (flagship white) and Louise Vineyard Chardonnay
• Also Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, AVA Series and Old-Vine Series Pinot Noirs, Rosé of Pinot Noir, and Louise Vineyard Syrah, Pinot Gris and Viognier

Cristom's vineyards have been certified sustainable through LIVE (Low Input Viticulture & Enology) since 2007. In November 2017 the winery redefined its farming practices to include organic and biodynamic principles, agro-ecology, permaculture and integrative pest management, a change Tom Gerrie introduced. Estrin has completed the transition to biodynamics. The estate keeps sheep, chickens and quail, and the winery is a member of the Willamette Valley Oak Accord. Wine Spectator named the 2023 Mt. Jefferson Cuvée Pinot Noir Wine #11 of its Top 100 of 2025. Writing for Jancis Robinson, Samantha Cole-Johnson placed the Mt. Jefferson Cuvée on her short list of wines that deliver in any vintage and wrote that it has retained its affordability as prices have soared throughout the Willamette Valley. In a Decanter producer profile, John Stimpfig described Cristom as one of Oregon's top names.

• Certified sustainable through LIVE since 2007
• Organic and biodynamic principles adopted from November 2017, introduced by Tom Gerrie
• Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2025: 2023 Mt. Jefferson Cuvée Pinot Noir, Wine #11

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://cristomvineyards.com/, https://cristomvineyards.com/our-people/, https://cristomvineyards.com/vineyards/, https://cristomvineyards.com/vineyards/marjorie-vineyard/, https://cristomvineyards.com/vineyards/louise-vineyard/, https://cristomvineyards.com/vineyards/jessie-vineyard/, https://cristomvineyards.com/vineyards/eileen-vineyard/, https://cristomvineyards.com/vineyards/paul-gerrie-vineyard/, https://cristomvineyards.com/winemaking/, https://cristomvineyards.com/how-we-farm/, https://cristomvineyards.com/visit/, https://cristomvineyards.com/accolades/, https://cristomvineyards.com/stories/. Secondary sources: https://www.winespectator.com/wine/wine-detail/id/1321543/name/cristom-pinot-noir-eola-amity-hills-mt.-jefferson-cuv%C3%A9e-2023/guest, https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/cristom-mt-jefferson-cuvee-pinot-noir-2021-eola-amity-hills, https://www.decanter.com/premium/cristom-vineyards-producer-profile-400222/. Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.