The Winegrower
The Hand Of The People
The human decisions made directly influence a vine and wine’s environment. Who we are has a tremendous influence over how we do the things we do. The fingerprint an individual leaves on the wines they touch is like the fingerprint itself… no two are alike. Just as a wine can be a reflection of the place and time from which it originates, it inevitably reveals the soul of the individuals involved in its creation.
Our Story
France born in the Philippines, Tom born in Chicago, met in 1989 at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, fell in love, and set out on a life of Adventure. A love of science, deep yearning for connection to the Land, and needing an outlet for his creativity, Tom set out on his Winegrowing path… after glimpses of this way of life upon a visit to a college roomate in Napa and a move to the Northwest and discovery of the Willamette Valley in the early 90’s. After stints making wine in Washington State, New Zealand, and Napa Valley, Tom completed his Masters degree in Viticulture & Enology at UC Davis, before moving to France to make wine in the Côte de Nuits in Burgundy. Working the vineyards of Chambolle-Musigny, Morey-St-Denis, and Gevrey-Chambertin greatly inspired and informed Tom’s approach.
Unexpected learnings from Tom’s Viticulture & Enology Masters Thesis research at UC Davis, reinforced by observations made while making wine with Domaine Hubert Lignier in Morey-St-Denis Burgundy, cemented Tom’s Terroir focus and approach and ignited what has become a life-long obsession. Fueled by this obsession and armed with only a dream and our years of professional Winegrowing experience, we ”bootstrapped” our small Family Winery, starting with the purchase of our 25 year old Dundee Hills Estate vineyard from Archery Summit’s Gary Andrus in 2008, which we farmed by hand ourselves, selling all the fruit to other wineries, until we saved enough to make our first 100 cases of wine in 2012. Believing that great wine is all about “Great Care”, to this day, much of the Work and Care involved in our 1,400 case annual production continues to be performed personally by us… from tractor work, to cellar work, to personally meeting with all our customers here in our tasting room and out in the World.
Tom Fitzpatrick
Proprietor / Winegrower
Tom began his winemaking career with Gerard Bentryn, a Viticultural pioneer in Washington State’s Puget Sound AVA. After working for a short period with Hunter’s Wines in New Zealand, he and his wife settled in Napa Valley, where he worked for Pine Ridge Winery and then alongside some of Napa’s most famous Cult producers at Napa Wine Company.
Tom earned his Masters degree in Viticulture & Enology from UC Davis, contributing to Dr. Douglas Adams’ research on the origin, nature, and behaviour of phenolic compounds in both grapes and wines. Tom’s Masters Thesis, “Variation in the Phenolic Composition of California Pinot Noir Fruit and Wines: Analysis and Explanation”, took an in-depth look at the phenolic composition of particular clones of Pinot Noir, grafted to particular rootstocks, that were planted across over 50 extremely diverse vineyard sites in California, as well as the wines made from this fruit.
Tom then went to work in Burgundy, France with Domaine Hubert Lignier, whose holdings include Grand Cru, Premier Cru, and Village vineyards in Chambolle-Musigny, Morey-St-Denis, and Gevrey-Chambertin. Tom and his wife finally settled in Oregon in 2007, where they began building Élevée Winegrowers from scratch, while Tom worked as Associate Winemaker for Hamacher Wines and then Winemaker & General Manager for Alloro Vineyard, where he has earned numerous awards for his wines.
France Fitzpatrick
Proprietor
Coming Soon