Cristina Gonzales: Gonzales Wine Company

Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla land – Portland, Oregon

https://www.gonzaleswineco.com,@gonzaleswinecompany

Cristina Gonzales is the granddaughter of migrant farm workers from Texas, who moved to Wisconsin to pick cherries in search of a better life. Her passion for wine began while traveling as a backpacker through South America in 2001 and landing in Mendoza, Argentina, the epicenter of South American Malbec. When she returned to the United States, she entered the wine industry and eagerly gained hands-on experience, working harvests in California, Oregon, Tasmania, and Australia. She launched Gonzales Wine Company in 2010, which strives to create minimal intervention, small production, accessible wines. Representation Matters. Gonzales wines strive to serve, inspire and motivate other underrepresented communities that anything is possible.  Cristina serves on the board of AHIVOY Oregon and the Oregon Wine Board.  She resides in Portland, Oregon with her son, Julian, and their cattle dog, Bean, and makes bold red and aromatic white wines from Washington and Oregon grapes in the heart of SE Portland.

Social Justice and Environmental Restoration Statement:

I am a Latina-owned and operated winery that strives to empower and uplift our BIPOC community through advocacy and engagement. I am an active member of the Latine wine community in Oregon. I serve on the Board of Directors of AHIVOY, a non-profit organization in the Willamette Valley that empowers Vineyard Stewards through education and community.  I'm an organizer for Celebrating Hispanic Roots, a group of Oregon winery owners and winemakers, who share Hispanic backgrounds and give back to the Spanish-speaking community.  I believe that the people who tend the grapes and work the land are just as important as the location and terroir.