Wine Crush Episode 8

Guest Biographies

Sofia Torres-McKay

Sofia and her husband kept their daily jobs in the IT industry in order to invest in their vineyard. In 2015 Sofia decided to leave the IT Industry environment and focused 100% in the wine family business.  They are excited yet humbled to be in the Dundee Hills, the Mecca of the Pinot Noir. Living few steps from Pinot Noir pioneers such as Jim Maresh, Vivian Weber, and next door neighbor Dick Erath.

Their vineyard is their home and they farm without the use of pesticides and herbicides while leveraging ancient practices to avoid contaminating the soil, the environment, farm workers, guests and their children.

In the years when the vines were developing from small tender shoots to sturdy fruit producing vines, they searched the valley high and low for a winemaker to coax the essence of this special place into rich yet elegant wines. They have found that raising vines is a lot like raising their two boys. They need lots of love and if you spend quality time with them, give them the best you have to offer, they grow up strong and healthy, showing their full potential in life.

Chris Barnes

Chris is an engineer who has worked in the technology sector for over 15 years. As an engineer, he has always had an intense desire to make the things that he is interested in. This desire motivated forays into cooking, heavy equipment, and engine building; but farming and wine making has always held a special place in his heart.

Both his grandparents and great-grandparents owned vineyards on the east coast. His grandparent’s farm was located in Vineland, New Jersey where they farmed the Noah grape. The crop was used for sparkling white wine production. When Chris was a child he would spend time working on the farm picking berries and helping out on the farm (or so he thinks).