Chris Burrough

Chris Burrough understood efficiency and quality from a young age, thanks to his Marine Corps-veteran parents. “It was all about doing something correctly—and on-time,” he says. Today, as Twomey’s associate winemaker, Chris oversees all aspects of farming and winemaking in Oregon with this sense of discipline.

California-born and Oregon-raised, Chris attended Le Cordon Bleu’s Western Culinary Institute in Portland, OR. It was there that he was introduced to and captivated by the romance of wine. “I fell in love with the craft, the hard work and the stewardship of the land,” says Chris, who initially thought he’d run his own restaurant group.

Now with over 12 years of wine industry experience (most recently as assistant winemaker at J.K. Carriere), Chris currently specializes in Twomey’s Oregon Pinot Noir and credits his mentors for his tactical approach. “I was at Erath [Winery] during ’10 and ’11—two difficult vintages. I watched Gary [Horner] deal with rain storm after rain storm and learned that you can’t be hyper-technical all of the time,” he says. “But it is better to have those skills and not need them [due to unavoidable conditions] than to not have them at all.”

Chris’ career recently came full circle with Twomey’s acquisition of Prince Hill Vineyard in Oregon’s Willamette Valley from Dick Erath. “It’s great learning the ins and outs of the land from Dick, who farmed it for 35 years,” he says. “I’m excited to be a part of Prince Hill—its past, its present and helping to build its future. There’s a lot to look forward to.”