CHRISTIAN PILLSBURY

Proprietor

A native son of San Francisco, Christian grew enamored of early California history as a young man. More precisely, he became captivated by the early wines of California, for they struck him as living archives; liquid time- capsules, that harkened back to a more rugged, adventurous time in the Golden State’s history. His first apartment in San Francisco consisted of a simple coffee table, a chair, a bed and cases of wine, many of which he acquired at the wine store where he worked, stocking shelves. His paychecks at the time were spent almost entirely on feeding his then-nascent fascination with wine.

Ambitious and inquisitive, he became a serious student of the world’s benchmark wines after meeting the inimitable Martine Saunier of Martine Wines. Representing such iconic brands as Rayas and Leroy, Martine became Christian’s mentor and profoundly shaped his relationship to the enological world and his place within it. More recently, he played an integral role in Coravin, the maker of a sophisticated wine preservation tool, where he helped establish the brand across Asia.

After visiting the Cienega Valley, Christian became aware of the land upon which Eden Rift stands today. Intrigued by its vibrant history and the calcareous, granitic, limestone and mineral-rich soils throughout, his intuition compelled him to believe that Burgundian varieties would and should again thrive in this isolated, wind-swept mountain canyon.