In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15th through October 15th, Ora et Labora is honored to host Latinx winemakers who craft amazing wines from grapes all over the state of Oregon. Winemakers will be pouring samples of their wines in the Vinum Lounge event space on two different occasions this month (Wednesday 9/27, 4-7pm and Saturday 10/7, 1-4pm). These producers are members of Celebrating Hispanic Roots, a collective of winemakers and winery owners who share a Hispanic background.
Tickets are $10 in advance, or $15 at the door; the price includes tastings from the winemakers and small bites, and glass pours and bottles of their wines will be available for purchase. In gratitude for these winemakers and all the people whose labors go into their wines, Ora et Labora will be donating 10% of all sales to AHIVOY, an Oregon nonprofit that works to empower vineyard stewards by providing education and professional development services.
Here’s information about the winemakers who will be present on Wednesday, September 27th from 4-7pm…get your tickets here!
Gonzales Wine Co.
In the words of Cristina, Foundress, Winemaker, and Proprietress…
Cristina Gonzales is the granddaughter of migrant farm workers from Texas who moved to Wisconsin to pick cherries in search of a better life. She comes from a long lineage of those who work with their hands. Cristina's passion for wine began while traveling as a backpacker through South America in 2001. A luscious Argentinian steak paired with the perfect Malbec transformed Cristina's appreciation for pairing wine with food and community. When she returned home, Cristina embarked on several years of harvest-hopping and working in the wine industry before establishing her own label.
After working as a harvest intern at WillaKenzie Estate in 2007, Cristina fell in love with Oregon and decided to move to Portland in 2009, where she started working for A to Z Wineworks/REX HILL. Cristina took on many different roles there as a cellar hand, lab assistant, warehouse manager and finally as bottling line manager until 2013. In 2010, during her tenure at A to Z Wineworks, Cristina decided to try her hand at winemaking for herself and Gonzales Wine Company was born. Her desire to travel and live abroad led her away from Oregon and back to Latin America for 3 years: this time to Chiapas, Mexico, where she gave birth to her son. During this time, she continued to make wine for her own label in Santa Rosa, California. In 2016, Cristina and her family decided to move back to the United States and returned to Portland, Oregon, where she resides today and currently produces wine from Southern Oregon and Washington.
Parra Wine Co.
In the words of Sam Parra, Founder, Winemaker, and Proprietor:
PARRA Wine Co was established in 2019 by proprietor Sam Parra. His last name is a Spanish and Portuguese surname meaning “grapevine” or “trellis”.
Born and raised in St. Helena, CA, he was destined to be in the wine industry. After rising through the ranks for 15 years in both Napa and Sonoma counties, Sam moved to the Willamette Valley in the summer of 2016 to begin this journey.
PARRA Wine Co is, and will remain, a boutique, producer of handcrafted wine. Over the years Sam has cultivated friendships with highly respected growers who share the same passion and dedication to the craft, and he showcases single vineyard wines from the great state of Oregon.
Iterum Wines
In the words of Founder, Winemaker, and Co-Proprietor Joe Dobbes (along with his wife Patricia):
Iterum Wines represents my full circle winemaking story and celebrates the crescendo of my career. In 2017 I found myself ready for a reset. I stepped back from my original wine project, Dobbes Family Estate and Wine by Joe. I took two years off from winemaking, tasted through my peers’ wines and revisited my own wine portfolio dating back to the start of my career.
After more than three decades in the industry, it became clear to me that it was time to go full circle, and to get small again. In 2018 my wife Patricia and I purchased our dream property, which we named Orchard House Vineyard. The organically farmed 21 acre estate, located on the west slope of the Eola-Amity Hills, is now home to my new project, Iterum Wines. Iterum is Latin for again, afresh, once more.
The purpose behind Iterum is to get back to my roots. I am just where I want to be. I’m back in the vineyard kicking the dirt, farming, creating, experimenting, and I am rejuvenated. I’ve emerged with a hyper focused vision and am making the most exciting wines of my life.
The Iterum portfolio includes Estate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Methode Traditionelle Sparkling Wine. Also included in the portfolio are a handful of ‘Old Friends’, bottlings produced from truly exceptional vineyards, varietals, and rare clones which I’ve worked with over the past 37 vintages, and are essential to my story. I am excited to share my work with old friends and new ones to come.