Cristina Gonzales

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 absorbed information any way she could, working harvests in California, Oregon, Tasmania, and Australia. She honed her skills at A to Z Wineworks/REX HILL in the Willamette Valley and in 2009, she finally launched Gonzales Wine Company, uniting winemaking experience from around the world with that first spark of inspiration in a glass of Malbec in Argentina. Cristina serves as Secretary on the Board of AHIVOY Oregon and serves on the Advisory Board of Woman-Owned Wineries. She resides in Portland, Oregon with her son, their cattle dog, Bean and crafts small-production wines from Washington and Oregon grapes in the heart of SE Portland.