Winemaker's Dinner: Division Winemaking Co.

ABOUT KATE
Kate Norris is the co-owner & co-winemaker of Division Winemaking Company. After working and learning how to make wine in France’s Beaujolais, Burgundy and Loire regions, Kate moved west to Oregon. Determined to make approachable and balanced wines though minimal manipulation, Kate’s passion is to work with well farmed and terroir expressive vineyards celebrating the varietals she loves to drink and the vintage they were grown in.

After a lifetime of travel, Oregon, Portland, and their culture and climates have become a true home for Kate. Born in Bahrain to an English father and Malagasy (that’s Madagascar) mother, Kate’s exposure to food and wine is extensive. She has lived in England, Switzerland, France and the U.S. and traveled the world. She graduated magna cum laude with three majors from Colgate University and has since worked at management levels with event planning firms and wineries across the U.S.

Under the Division label, Kate, along with her business partner Tom Monroe, produce on average 25 unique bottlings per vintage from 10 different varieties of grapes grown in the Pacific Northwest – with a special focus on advancing the love of Gamay Noir and Chenin Blanc in the US. Kate also produces wines under her own label, Gamine.

ABOUT TOM
Tom Monroe is the co-owner & co-winemaker of Division Winemaking Company. His extensive career in food, music, corporate finance and small business has given him the solid foundation needed to run a thriving winery.

Tom grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and enjoyed his time in the Midwest watching Cardinals baseball games, helping his grandfather on their family farm and working for various restaurateurs and rock bands in the region and in Colorado where he went to college.

After completing a program in enology and viticulture and working in wineries in France’s famed Loire Valley, Beaujolais and Burgundy regions, Tom moved to Oregon to make wine with Kate in 2010. Tom strives to make nuanced wines that are driven by vineyard and vintage character, or terroir, while keeping things simple and minimal in the cellar. Outside of the winery, Tom adores spending time with his young son and wife and enjoys skiing, live music, hiking in the Pacific Northwest, and traveling, eating and drinking wines throughout the world.