Chris Gorman of Gorman Winery
After graduating from Western Washington University with a marketing degree and lots of guitar-playing hours for the Crawdaddies, Chris Gorman went to work for a small Italian importer in Seattle. Several jobs later he was tasting wines from all over the world and travelling as a sales representative to Italy, Spain and Germany. He fell in love with Italy and winemaking and eventually turned his Seattle garage into a winemaking facility in 1999, going commercial in 2002. From the beginning, he was partial to the "flavor, power, grace and structure" of Red Mountain fruit, and worked to make concentrated wines full of flavor to drink either by themselves or with food. It wasn’t long before Wine Spectator recognized Chris as a rising star in U.S. winemaking, and in 2017 his Zachary’s Ladder blend was on Spectator’s top 100 list.
Chris is passionate about creativity, whether he’s winemaking, playing guitar, or cooking, and he excels at all three. Many wineries seek to bring wine and the visual arts together, but at Gorman Winery the emphasis is on combining wine and music. Several dozen signed guitars decorate the tasting room walls, and many of the musicians behind the signatures have performed in the tasting rooms. Gorman patrons can also access music via state-of-the-art pinball machines, accessible while sipping. Gorman wine names, such as Pixie, Evil Twin, The Devil You know, and The Bully, are as memorable and unique as the wines which they refect. Although the Gorman wines are typically Bordeaux and Rhone style, Chris is also a huge Chardonnay fan, and has created a special Ashan Cellars label for his Chardonnay wines. Lines on Wines wishes Chris all the best with his upcoming move to a new winemaking facility in Maltby, WA. Tasting rooms will remain in Woodinville!
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