Our story began in a winery

It all started with boxed wine. If we were really lucky, Safeway had it on sale.

We loved wine. We were the first to admit we didn’t know much about it, but agreed that we loved the idea of wine, learning about wine, pouring wine, and drinking wine. When it was time to choose a site for our wedding, we decided to exchange vows in wine’s presence.

Our wedding, at the beautiful Willamette Valley Vineyards, was on April 29, 2011. Our marriage created a new, larger family, and with our five kids (aged 12-21), we set off on a new adventure together. It was a crazy-busy one, and oh-so-happy, but remember the crazy-busy? That. That might have have had us depending on our boxed wine more than ever.

Our fascination with wine grew as friends introduced us to new varieties; they helped us--literally--think outside the box. The more wines we met, the more we liked.

One fateful, eye-opening Saturday, our dear friends invited us on a tour of Umpqua Valley. What was memorable was not just the wine we tasted that day, but the tour itself: the process, the people, the science, the commitment. We were immediately and completely hooked, and knew we wanted to develop winery tours into something more, to add our own unique touches and offer something a little different.

We had found our hobby and our passion: a quality wine experience.

After 25 years in the medical field, Kimberly was ready for a change, ready to leap toward turning our passion into our work. While Eric continues full-time work in the real world for now, he makes as many trips as time allows and does much of the behind-the-scenes stuff that keeps Cork & Barrel in the tip-top shape we want you, our customers, to enjoy.

Follow us as we follow our dreams. Our personal story started in a winery. It seems only fitting that the rest of our story continue there.