Jeff & Vicki Gordon ~ Owners
Marc Nelson ~ Vineyard & Orchard Manager
Katie Nelson ~ Director of Marketing
Tim Henley ~ Winemaker

TIM HENLEY
Winemaker

Growing up in California’s Central Valley amidst vineyards and farmland, Tim Henley has always known a respect for the land. Spending summers at his grandmother’s house, Tim played in the shade of a grape arbor, picked fresh vegetables from the garden, and harvested nuts from his grandmother’s walnut tree. “I loved visiting my grandmother,” Tim remarks. “It definitely instilled in me a love of the earth, a desire to live in harmony with nature, and an appreciation for eating the food you grow.”

It was not until his early twenties that Tim discovered he could make a career out of this passion. After experimenting with home brewing, Tim fell in love with fermentation. Fascinated by the combination of chemistry and art required to make great beer, he decided to go back to school for a degree in fermentation science. When he discovered that Fresno State University did not offer classes in beer making, he settled for winemaking, figuring that he could apply what he learned to making beer. This decision changed the course of his future. After attending several wine tastings at school, Tim was hooked on the infinite intricacies of fine wine. He decided to become a winemaker and never looked back.

After graduation in 1997, Tim took his first job at Byron, on California’s Central Coast. Because he knew he wanted to build a lifelong career in winemaking, he insisted on starting in the cellar so that he could learn every aspect of a working winery. After a year learning the operation of the pumps, sanitation, and all other cellar basics, Tim was promoted to enologist, where he oversaw the operation of the lab and put together tastings for the winemaking team.

With this valuable experience under his belt, Tim felt he was ready for the next step on his career path, and accepted a position as assistant winemaker at Zaca Mesa in 2001. Here, he learned another valuable lesson under the tutelage of winemaker Clay Brock. Clay believed in starting with a simple approach, and that there is no reason to over-complicate things. “Clay got me out of the habit of thinking of a wine as good versus bad,” remembers Tim, “Instead, I learned to make the best possible wine from what was available in the vineyards and the winery.” He also learned the varied aspects of being a winemaker, from ordering supplies, to managing a team of people, to organizing production schedules, and of course, making wine.

After five years working on the Central Coast, Tim was drawn to the Napa Valley in 2003. “Central Coast wines were so often compared to Napa Valley wines – I just had to see for myself what it was all about,” Tim explains. His winemaking positions at noted Napa wineries Clos Pegase, Luna, and Pine Ridge gave Tim his first exposure to working with Bordeaux varietals, and to different styles and paces. “I am very grateful for the experience and opportunity to have worked in such a world-renowned winegrowing region,” says Tim. But somehow, Napa never quite felt like home. Tim craved a different lifestyle, where he could really get in touch with the vines.

For Tim, living and working in Eastern Washington is about a different way of life. “It’s a mentality shift,” he explains. “Working on a farm puts me in touch with the earth’s cycles – what crop is in season and what’s coming around. We come home with fresh produce to eat. It’s an exciting way to live; it’s how we were meant to be.” Living in harmony with the earth includes an aversion to sprays and pesticides. Although Tim has always avoided the use of chemicals whenever possible, his experience at Gordon Brothers is his first with a certified organic vineyard. “I just love being able to take my daughter out there and let her pick a grape and eat it without fear. And, we’re finding that farming organically also makes better fruit. It just feels like the right way to treat the earth, and we are rewarded with better and better quality grapes.”

Tim also enjoys the information sharing that is a part of the lifestyle of the Eastern Washington winemaking community. “Ongoing education is a lifestyle here, and we can always learn more. It’s not just about the grapes and the wine, it’s about the people. It takes people to make the wine, to sell it, to drink it. It’s about the team and the people we interact with.” Working with organically farmed vineyards, sharing with his community, and watching his daughter grow up playing in the dirt and picking grapes from the vines, for Tim, Gordon Brothers truly does feel like coming home.