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.