Kristie Tacey is the winemaker and founder of Tessier Winery in Berkeley, CA. She is a scientist turned winemaker. A former published research scientist who studied protein pathways, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area from her native Michigan to pursue a career in biotechnology, which included working on the Human Genome Project. Kristie eventually came to realize that winemaking was her true calling and completed courses in winemaking at UC Davis. After working as operations manager and assistant winemaker at an award-winning East Bay winery, Tessier Winery was founded in 2009.
Tessier focuses on organically farmed, hand-picked, hand-sorted, slow-pressed small-batch wines that are unfiltered, unfined, and deliver a pure expression of the terroirs we pick from. In the cellar, we practice native fermentations and minimal intervention to allow each vineyard to speak for itself. We have selectively chosen organically farmed, family-owned and operated vineyards that are in local regions that we feel best express the varietals we love and are inspired by. Media Inquiries: kristie@tessierwinery.com | https://tessierwinery.com/
What’s the ONE THING most unique, authentic, & memorable about your brand?
Tessier is the original French spelling of my last name Tacey. My lineage came from the Loire Valley to Quebec, then on to Michigan. When I was starting my education in wine, I knew I had go to France to experience wine in an origin country and learn more about the long-held traditions of making wine. My background is in science and I earned a certificate in winemaking from UC Davis, but I needed inspiration. When I was trying to find my voice as a winemaker, I identified with the French approach of doing less and letting the terroir speak for itself. Really, it is all about the fruit and farming (organic is a must), then letting the naturally occurring yeast do its job and see how the wine evolves. No fining or filtering, and only intervening if there is a serious issue. There is no word for winemaker in French, it is focused on the growing of grapes. With every trip to France I came back inspired. In 2011 I was obsessed with Pinot noir and had only been making Pinot up to that point but after visiting the Rhone region, I decided to add Grenache to my lineup. Later, I was inspired by a trip to Beaujolais where I met a small natural winemaker who blinded me on a white wine and it stumped me, it was so interesting but I didn’t recognize it. Of course, it was Chardonnay but it had been macerated and fermented on the skins! Each trip inspires new wines.
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained.
I love my career in wine and this is exactly the business and brand I wanted to grow. We plan to get a little bigger over the next few years and I would like to grow our production to around 5000 cases annually. I would like to have a full-time assistant winemaker and a harvest intern. I’ve always wanted to get several cement eggs for fermentations and aging.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and/or winemaking style? Tell us its story.
The most emblematic wine would have to be Pinot Noir. I started with my favorite grape in 2009 and only made Pinot Noir until 2011. When I first started to visit wineries in Sonoma, I became obsessed with the subtlety and complexity of Pinot Noir. I was still a research scientist then and read a lot about Pinot Noir, clone types, and how the terroir was so important for this grape, It likes struggle and requires a very specific environment to thrive.
Our current release of Pinot Noir is from the coastal side of the Santa Cruz Mountains. This is a highly underrated region and one of my favorites in California for Pinot Noir. Saveria Vineyard is farmed by Prudy Foxx (a well known local viticulturist specializing in Pinot noir) and has been farmed sustainably for over 40 years. Read the 2021 Pinot Noir review here.
Bonus Question: What’s the one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?
I do yoga daily and stand on my head for 2 minutes every day.