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Jeff Brooks Email
Northeast Regional Manager . King Estate Winery
Eugene, OR
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King Estate was started in 1991. The King family had been interested in the nascent Oregon wine industry dating back to Ed King III's move to Oregon in 1979 to enter the University of Oregon's MBA program. By the early 1990's Ed III had acquired two small vineyards through local timberland and farm land acquisitions. Meanwhile, Ed III's father, Ed, Jr., who had sold his aviation electronics firm- King Radio Corporation, in 1985- was also becoming more interested in wine- due to his travels in Europe. Ed, Jr. retired with the sale of his company and spent much of his time sailing and at his homes in Arizona and Nevada. Ed, Jr. has always been the principal financer of the winery, though many other family members now own interests in the company. Ed Jr. visited Oregon regularly over the first decade of the winery and in 2001 began to spend his summers in Oregon. Ed III has continued to live in Oregon since the inception of the winery. Early employees of King Estate in 1991 and 1992 included Brad Biehl, Shauna Ballard, David Michul, Mike Lambert, and Will Bucklin. Merry Edwards was an early consultant to the winery, as was André Tchelistcheff. In 1993, Michael Silacci was the winemaker. The launching pad for King Estate was the purchase of a 600 acre parcel near Lorane, Oregon in 1991. The property was first viewed by Ed III when he visited the Lorane Valley to see hay that was for sale on a cattle ranch. The ranch had once been entirely planted to fruit trees and the slopes reminded Ed III of the two small vineyards he already owned. He felt the ranch could be the location for the major winery project that he had discussed with his father. It turned out that the ranch was also for sale, and not just the hay. Time would prove that it was a very good place to grow grapes as well. The location is somewhat unique in terms of its position in the state- a stone's throw south of the Willamette Valley, and close enough to the Oregon coast to be influenced by maritime weather. While the location might qualify for its own appellation, King Estate has focused on creating a national interest in Oregon wines in general, rather than any specific location in Oregon. The years have brought the company two major land acquisitions in the neighborhood- the Spring Hill Ranch and the Doughty Ranch, contiguous properties, extended the Estate to the north and east, and brought the total acreage to over 1000 acres. In the mid-1990's Brad Biehl focused on viticulture on the Estate and with contract growers. Will Bucklin became the winemaker and under Will's guidance, the winery established a very successful approach to making Pinot Gris in a cold fermentation and without the use of oak or malolactic fermentations. It was also during this period (August 1995) that Bill Kremer joined King Estate as an Assistant Winemaker and a young New Zealander named Ray Walsh became Cellar master. Eventually, when Will Bucklin left (1999), Kremer and Walsh became Co- Winemakers, sharing winemaking duties. In 2005, Kremer became sole winemaker and he was joined by John Albin as Associate Winemaker and Lindsay Kampff as Assistant Winemaker. Other executive officers of the company who today provide critical management include Steve Thomson, Director of Sales and Marketing and Doyal Eubank, CFO. In addition to other management positions, King Estate has employed Mike Lambert, Sean Minor, and Brad Biehl in a General Manager role in years past. All three have made significant contributions to the company and its success. King Estate has developed relationships with distributors around the US, Canada, and overseas. Many of these relationships have developed into true partnerships, based on mutual goals and joint planning. King Estate is very well distributed in the US, and will be found in the best retail shops and restaurants. King Estate has focused on the long view of the industry and King Estate's role in the industry. Our success has not been due to only one person's efforts or one person's vision: rather, many people have contributed much over the years. Some of those people are mentioned here and some have been left out inadvertently, with our apologies. We decided long ago to have all employees and adult family members sign the lid of our wine cases - see these signatures. This record, which is updated periodically, shows that many, many people have contributed much over the years.King Estate Winery Address
80854 Territorial HWYEugene, OR
United States