Archives: Our Team

When I finally achieved Snapple Salesmen of the month at our local distributor, my mom decided to hire me at the winery to travel the nation selling our family’s wines. This was in July of 1998 and I remember still having hair! Since then, I have run our distributor sales team as VP of Sales, became the winery’s 4th winemaker in 2012, and in February of 2023 I became President of the winery and vineyard. Throughout all that time I have overseen our vineyards, forever tying me to the land and further reinforcing a simple truism: wine is made in the vineyard. After all these years and various roles at my family’s Estate, I am more excited than ever to take my past experiences and lead our team toward its goal every vintage: craft compelling wines worth putting on your table.

A little about me: I graduated from Portland State University with a philosophy degree in 1997 and then a MBA in 2003. I live on the vineyard with my wife, Ginny, and our golden retriever, Gus. We’ve raised two great men who are currently out finding their paths in life. When time allows, we love to take our RV out on adventures, read (especially sci-fi), and when the skies are clear, take my telescope out to wander around the heavens.

Alison Sokol Blosser is a Second Generation Winegrower, member of the Board of Directors, and owner of Sokol Blosser Winery, a 52-year old pioneering winery in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The daughter of founders Susan Sokol Blosser and Bill Blosser, Alison feels a deep connection to the family vineyard and winery as a steward of the multi-generational family business.

From 2008-2023 she was Co-President with her winemaker brother, Alex, and from 2014-2023 she was CEO. In early 2023, she stepped down to spend more time with her family.

As the company’s CEO, she guided its strategic future while directly overseeing both consumer and wholesale sales across the US and internationally, marketing, product development and all administrative functions, including accounting, finance, compliance, logistics, IT and HR. Alison carried the torch for the company’s sustainability efforts and commitment to social responsibility, having led the company’s efforts to become B Corp certified in 2015. The company was recognized for four years as a Best for The World: Environment recipient for its significant impact on the environment.

In addition to earning a BA from Portland State University and an MBA from the University of Washington, Alison spent three years working in public relations and marketing communications. Her experience spanned startups to consumer branding giants, including Nike and Nordstrom. In 2004, she returned to Sokol Blosser and assumed the role of director of marketing. Then, in 2008 as part of a thoughtful multi-year succession plan, she and Alex were named Co-Presidents and transitioned the family winery to the next generation.

Alison was active in the wine industry as past president of Oregon Pinot Camp, a founding member of the Dundee Hills Winegrowers Association, a member of the Willamette Valley Auction steering committee, a past board member of WineAmerica, and a founding member of Women in Wine: Fermenting Change in Oregon which is dedicated to advancing and supporting women in the Oregon wine industry. Additionally, Alison is a long-time member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO).

Alison received numerous honors and distinctions for her stewardship and leadership within the community. Named one of Portland Business Journal’s “Women of Influence” in 2015, she went on to be named one of nine “Drinks Innovators” by SevenFifty Daily in 2018 for going all-in on sustainability efforts. She received the Outstanding Industry Leadership Award from her peers in the Oregon wine industry that same year.

Alison is married to Javier Zamora and has three children: Dario, Luca and Isabella.

Susan Sokol Blosser, wine industry pioneer, community activist, environmental advocate, and author, is a contemporary Oregon icon. Known for her leadership of Sokol Blosser Winery, she was a forerunner in instituting environmentally friendly business practices and practicing the triple bottom line concept of people, planet, profit. With its certified organic vineyard, the first LEED (U.S. Green Building Council’s certification) certified winery building in the U.S., and business practices based on the Natural Step model of sustainability, Sokol Blosser Winery made social responsibility and its environmental ethic priorities, while pursuing its vision of making fabulous wines. For its leadership, Sokol Blosser Winery has received multiple honors, including Sunset Magazine’s 2007 Green Winery of the Year, the State of Oregon’s 2008 Governor’s Award for Sustainability in the Small Business category, and Oregon Business Magazine’s 2009 100 Best Companies to Work For and 100 Best Green Companies to Work For awards.

Susan holds a B.A. from Stanford University and an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from the University of Portland, citing her entrepreneurship within the context of environmental and social responsibility. Other awards include Lifetime Achievement Awards from Women for WineSense and the Oregon Wine Board. Her memoir, At Home in the Vineyard: Cultivating a Winery, an Industry, and a Life, was published by the University of California Press in 2006, and her business philosophy, Gracious & Ruthless: Surprising Strategies for Business Success, appeared in 2008.

In 2008, she turned the presidency of Sokol Blosser Winery, Dundee, Oregon, over to her children, stepping back with the title of Founder.

Bill Blosser is an Oregon wine industry pioneer, urban planner, community activist, and environmental advocate. Known for being part of the small group that first planted grapes in Oregon in the early 1970’s, Bill led the development of the Sokol Blosser Vineyards and Winery. He participated actively in the development of the Oregon Winegrowers Association, the Oregon Wine Board, the Yamhill County Wineries Association, the International Pinot Noir Festival and the Yamhill County Tourism Board, and served as a board member and officer of most of them. He has also been very active in Oregon land use and environmental issues, chairing the Land Conservation and Development Commission, the Water Resources Commission and the Environmental Quality Commission. Together with other Yamhill County winegrowers, in the early 1970s he developed a rationale and maps to identify the best grape growing lands in Oregon; these were used by local planners to protect thousands of acres of grape land which otherwise would have been designated for rural residential tracts.

Bill holds a B.A. from Stanford University and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oregon Wine Board. In 1991, he turned the presidency of Sokol Blosser Winery over to Susan Sokol Blosser, who ably managed it until she turned it over in 2008 to their children.

Russ Rosner, a graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz, started in the wine industry in the Santa Cruz area and gradually worked his way north. He became a devotee of Pinot Noir during his years at Robert Mondavi Winery, 1983-1993, where he was part of a team of enologists experimenting with Pinot Noir vinification techniques. He was also in charge of the Mondavi barrel program.

In 1998 he moved to Oregon as Sokol Blosser’s winemaker and began rebuilding its wine program. He introduced better grape handling technology and equipment, and new winemaking techniques. In 2002 he oversaw the design and construction of an underground barrel cellar, the U.S. Green Building Council’s first LEED certified winery building, providing for the first time the ability to age Sokol Blosser’s Pinot Noir barrels under optimal storage conditions. He took over the fledgling Evolution program, building it into a wine that receives its own fan mail, and created Sokol Blosser’s proprietary red wine, Meditrina.

Russ is married to winery co-founder, Susan Sokol Blosser. They live in a house on the vineyard with their cat Leeleeloo and a pond full of koi.

I moved out to Oregon from Michigan (go State!) for graduate school at OSU. I received my degree in genetics and promptly started an internship in a winery quality control lab. I thought it was just going to be something different and fun to do for a harvest, however, that was 2005 and I have not turned back. My interest in wine started as a hobby with my Dad and now I’m teaching him things. He’s not complaining about the education. I spent 5 years training with one winery and have since traveled around to learn and experience harvest in other parts of the globe. I’ve tried both large and small scale winemaking on the south island of New Zealand in beautiful Marlborough and stunning Central Otago. I also explored winemaking in the South of France near the village of Limoux, producing a diversity of wines including bubbles (one of my favorite styles of wine). I’m happy to be on the team here at Sokol Blosser and am pleased with seeing Mt. Hood every time I walk out to my car (well in the summer that is).

Hobbies: Traveling, rock climbing, camping, skiing, exploring new places, and big dinners with friends and family

What You Like About Pinot Noir: It keeps the winemaking interesting as it is a finicky grape to work with.

Favorite Food: Pizza, tacos, BLTs with fresh summer tomatoes from the garden, and cheese.

Place You’d Like to Travel to: Thailand, Mongolia, Argentina, South Africa, Cuba, Germany, Greece…actually I’m up for all travel adventure anywhere.

Favorite Drink Besides Wine: Gin and Tonic or Pink Lemonade, both on ice.