He studied at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and graduated with a B.S. in Agribusiness Management. After studying alternative farming methods and practices growing organic vegetables for a number of years in Sonoma County, Chris felt a desire to challenge himself by taking up grape growing. He joined Sonoma Grapevines, diving into his role and expanding his knowledge while completing his AS in Viticulture from the highly respected SRJC, a hands-on education that helped hone Chris’ talents at vineyard best practices and management.
In 1999, Chris teamed up with Lloyd Vineyard Management in Healdsburg, California. Chris and LVM partner Doug planted our first blocks at the Estate Vineyard in 2002, vineyards that today add to the Williams Selyem reputation for monumental Pinot Noir. In 2006, he went out on his own and started Bowland Vineyard Management. He currently manages all of our Estate vineyards and a number of our grower vineyards, for a total of over 400 acres of ultra-premium wine grapes in both the Russian River and Bennett Valley AVA’s.
Chris is passionate about grape growing in Sonoma County and farming in a sustainable manner. If you can’t find him tending to the needs of the vineyards, he will likely be in his garden or fishing on a friend’s pond or the Russian River.
Operations