Foris

Foris
654 Kendall Rd
Cave Junction, Oregon
USA 97523
Phone: (800) 843-6747
http://www.foriswine.com

Contact: Ted Gerber
Email: [email protected]

Founded by Ted and Meri Gerber, Foris Winery and Vineyards is family-owned and family-managed. A graduate of Cal State Hayward in 1969, Ted studied political science and public administration. During his college years, he also developed a passion for making homemade wine. In 1971, Ted and Meri purchased hillside acreage in southern Oregon's remote Illinois Valley with the specific intention of growing grapes. Starting from scratch, they built a house, bought the land that is now Gerber Vineyards, and began planting grapes.


For a number of years they provided fruit to various vintners in southern Oregon, and in 1986 started producing their own wines under the Foris label. Meri passed away in 2000 after a lengthy illness, and in 2003 Ted married his present wife, Terri, a health professional with thirty years of medical experience and an avid interest in photography and landscape painting. Terri is responsible for keeping the vineyards' books, employee safety, and helping out with the administrative needs of the winery.

Alicia Gerber, Ted's daughter, came of age in the family vineyard. She studied childhood development in college and went out into the world on her own for a number of years. During her mother's illness, however, she returned home to help out and never looked back. Because she loves gardening and all things that grow, working alongside her father proved a natural fit. Over time, Alicia assumed a variety of important roles at the winery, and at present her responsibilities include working in the business office, the tasting room, and managing the gardens and grounds with Terri. Alicia and her son, Skylar, live on Maple Ranch in the foothills of the Siskiyous Mountains, a few short minutes east of Gerber Vineyards.

Terri's daughter, Heidi and her husband, Brian, and daughter Alex are also part of the Gerber family. Heidi is a gardening fanatic, while Brian is a self-described computer freak. They make their home at Maple Ranch Vineyards, not too far from Alicia and Skylar. Both Heidi and Brian are learning the wine business from the ground up. Heidi devotes the majority of her time assisting winemaker Bryan Wilson, with the goal of also becoming a top winemaker. Brian's specialties include oversight of computer security and operations, in addition to his vineyard duties.

Terri’s daughter Jennifer and her husband Michael Taylor are the newest family members to join the winery. They live on Maple Ranch, next door to Heidi and Brian. Jennifer and Michael are also learning the business from the ground up, spending time in the vineyards, winery, tasting room and Wine Club operations. Jennifer’s background is in retail management and Michael is an educator with a degree in environmental education. He is also a talented musician/singer/songwriter. Jennifer has two daughters, Jacqueline and Jenell.

The entire family - Ted, Terri, Alicia, Heidi, Brian, Jennifer, Michael, and (when they are old enough, one hopes) Alex, Skylar, Jacqueline and Jenell - subscribe to a simple philosophy that has served them well over the years. They strive to make the Foris experience "nice enough so that everybody enjoys coming to work." They go out of their way "to be friends to their employees, not just bosses." Their collective goal is to keep everybody involved in the business happy - employees, customers, and owners. If low employee turnover and high customer satisfaction are any indication, their philosophy appears to be working quite satisfactorily.

Winemaker: Bryan Wilson

Twitter: https://twitter.com/foriswine

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Foris-Vineyards/319453250653

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forisvineyards

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