Alex and Alison Sokol Blosser Named Co-Presidents of Pioneering Oregon Winery
DUNDEE, OR (January 2, 2008) – Sokol Blosser Winery today announced the retirement of founder Susan Sokol Blosser as president and the appointment of her children Alex and Alison as co-presidents, culminating a three-year transition process.
In their new roles, Alex and Alison Sokol Blosser will oversee operations and implement the strategic vision for the pioneering Oregon winery, which was founded in 1971 by Susan and her then-husband, Bill Blosser. Nik Blosser, eldest son of Susan and Bill, will continue in his role as chairman of the winery’s board of directors, assisting his siblings with the direction and oversight of the business.
“Sokol Blosser Winery is strong, this new generation of leadership is able and energetic, and the future is exceedingly bright,” Susan Sokol Blosser said. “These transitions can be challenging, but ours has unfolded over several years, with great deliberation and hard work. We are all ready, and all tremendously excited.”
Susan Sokol Blosser, 63, assumed the role of president of the winery in 1991. Under her stewardship, Sokol Blosser Winery maintained its commitment to making world-class Pinot Noir while developing its popular proprietary blends Evolution and Meditrina. Also, the winery – and Susan herself – became internationally recognized as a leader in green business practices, including organic viticulture, a principle fully embraced by Alex and Alison.
“Our goal is to build on the amazing foundation our mother and everyone at the winery created over the past decades,” Alison Sokol Blosser said. “Making great wines, conducting our business with integrity, respecting our employees and the earth, not being afraid of innovation and remaining family owned and operated – these are goals and values that will inspire and guide us.”
Alex, 34, began working full time at Sokol Blosser in 1998 while earning his MBA. He has served as vice president of sales and overseen vineyard and winemaking activities. He spearheaded the project to develop six new American Viticultural Areas in the northern Willamette Valley and headed the Northwest Wine Coalition on export promotions. In 2007, he served as president of the International Pinot Noir Celebration.
After getting her MBA and working in private industry for three years, Alison Sokol Blosser, 28, came home to Sokol Blosser in 2004 as director of marketing. She was promoted to vice president, working with Alex to plan the strategic future of the business and oversee marketing, consumer direct sales and administrative functions. She is a member of the Oregon Wine Board’s marketing committee and a founding member and president of the Dundee Hills Winegrowers Association. She also serves on the board of Oregon 150, a committee appointed by the Governor and charged with planning Oregon’s sesquicentennial commemoration in 2009.
“Alex and Alison each possess unique skills, experience, perspective and leadership abilities,” Susan Sokol Blosser said. “As we looked at how best to move forward, a process that included engaging outside expertise, it became clear that they could and should work together – that the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.”
Susan added that she will serve with pride as an “ambassador” for Sokol Blosser Winery, and will provide strategic counsel to the co-presidents. Author of the memoir “At Home in the Vineyard” (University of California Press, 2006), she looks forward to having more time for writing projects and a deeper involvement in environmental issues.
About Sokol Blosser Winery
The Sokol Blosser family planted their first grapevines in 1971 in the
Dundee Hills and now farms 80 certified organic acres. As one of the
pioneering wineries of the region, Sokol Blosser has played a key role in
developing and shaping the now-prominent Oregon wine industry. The winery
works to create wines of world-class quality, produced in a sustainable
manner, which reflect the distinctive flavors of the grapes, soil, and
climate, as well as the winery's values and sense of place. The winery
produces Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Evolution (a proprietary white wine blend
of nine varieties) and Meditrina (proprietary red blend), along with small
quantities of Single Block Pinot Noirs in selected vintages.