Kings Ridge Wines

Kings Ridge Wines is owned by Union Wine Company, a partnership created by two veterans of the Oregon wine industry brought together by a personal passion for well valued wine and a joint philosophy that the best wines are a union of gifted winemaking skills and precise farming techniques in the vineyard.

Ryan Harms - Owner and Executive Winemaker
When Ryan first ventured to Oregon to test his feet in the wine industry as a curious young harvest intern at Rex Hill Vineyards, he knew he’d be back. And, sure enough, he is.

A native of the Midwest, Ryan spent the latter part of his childhood in upstate New York outside the Finger Lakes wine region. He received his bachelor’s degree in environmental science from Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York.

After realizing that corporate America was not for him, Ryan convinced his young bride in 2000 that Oregon's vineyards were calling him and across the country they came. Ryan has since spent time working for some of the most well-respected Pinot Noir producers in Oregon's Willamette Valley, including Bergstrom Wines, Torii Mor Vineyards and Winery and Rex Hill Vineyards. And now, more than a decade after he got his first taste of Oregon's Willamette Valley, he has established a solid reputation for quality winemaking.

Ryan's passion for winemaking and dedication to creating quality wines at a price that anyone can enjoy on a regular basis, led him and business partner George Hillberry to purchase Kings Ridge Wines and carry on its growth and legacy as a pillar of quality and value in the Oregon wine scene. In addition to his gig leading the winemaking efforts for Kings Ridge Wines and Union Wine Company, he also is currently the consulting winemaker for a new winery project under development at Hawks View Cellars in Sherwood, Oregon.

Downtime is not a word in Ryan’s vocabulary!

George Hillberry - Owner and Vineyard Manager
Rumor has it that George spent time as a champion on the eastern European chess circuit in the early 80’s. Is it true? We can neither confirm nor deny …

Originally born in Berkley, Calif., George was raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Madrid, Spain. He also spent considerable time in the Valdepenas wine region of Spain. George later received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California and a master’s degree in business administration for Baldwin-Wallace College in Cleveland, Ohio.

Grapes are in George’s blood. He is a second generation Oregon vineyard owner and manager. His family originally invested in the Oregon wine industry in 1985 and, in 1998, he purchased a 25 percent interest in Chehalem Mountain Vineyard. In 2000, George relocated to Oregon’s north Willamette Valley to manage the operations and growth of his family’s vineyards. Over the past five years, he has increased planted acreage from 41 acres to more than 70 acres. His meticulous attention to the vines and timing of viticultural activities have resulted in award winning Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Chardonnay wines.

And he sure can play a mean game of chess. Or can he??

Justin Hoffman - National Sales Manager
Justin joined Kings Ridge in January 2007 – starting our year off with a bang! As national sales manager, Justin’s primary focus is to work with our distributors to increase sales of Kings Ridge throughout the United States. He will also be responsible for launching new products and brands for the Union Wine Company portfolio. A native of Berkley, California, Justin came to Oregon to attend Oregon State University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in international business.

Justin comes to Kings Ridge with significant experience in the sales arena. Most recently he was regional sales manager for Rex Hill Vineyards, one of the Willamette Valley’s most prominent wine producers. Justin also has experience on the production side of the wine business having worked in the cellar at Rex Hill for three harvest seasons. Prior to joining Rex Hill, Justin worked in sales and admissions for the Pacific Crest Outward Bound School, combining his ambition for sales and love of the outdoors.

Greg Bauer - Winemaker

Greg joined Union Wine Company in early 2009 just in time to coordinate the build-out of our new winemaking facility in Tualatin, Oregon. Now that Kings Ridge has its very own home, we needed a full-time winemaker to oversee day-to-day production, not only of Kings Ridge, but also of Union Wine Company's other labels Underwood Cellars and Alchemist along with a couple of custom crush clients who also call Union Wine Company home. Day-to-day production management is Greg's forte. He joined us with significant winemaking and production experience. Most recently Greg was assistant winemaker for A to Z Wineworks/Rex Hill Vineyards, one of the Oregon Willamette Valley's largest and most prominent wine producers. Prior to joining A to Z/Rex Hill, Greg spent time as part of the winemaking teams at Torii Mor Winery in the Willamette Valley and at Wind River Cellars in Washington State. When we let Greg out of the wine cellar, he spends his time pursuing his love of food, guitars and golf and is a self-professed sports junkie. Is chess considered a sport?

Tori Harms - Director of Marketing & Communications
You might say Tori Harms married into a love of wine, but truthfully, she grew up in a family of wine lovers. Born and raised in upstate New York, not far from the Finger Lakes wine region, Tori later attended and received her bachelor’s degree from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. She put her passion and skill for writing and communicating to use as a public relations professional and worked for several years at one of the largest PR firms in New England on a variety of award winning projects.

Wine country on the West Coast was calling, however, and, after marrying in 2000, Tori and her husband Ryan (yes, that Ryan!) moved to Oregon where Tori began working for another well known public relations firm in Portland. In 2005, after giving birth to their son, Tori decided a change of pace was in order and accepted the position she now holds as Senior Public Relations Manager for McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants. And, of course, in her spare time, she also handles marketing and communications for Kings Ridge Wines. There is no doubt that the Harms family is obsessed with good food and good wine!

PO Box 1147 Newberg, OR 97132 | (971)-322-4791 | info@kingsridgewines.com