Kristof Farms

Kristof Farms sits just up the road from Carlton Winemakers Studio on land inhabited for over 8,000 years by Native tribes such as the Yamhill. In the 1930s, settlers established the farm, planting the first orchards of apples, walnuts, and prunes. By 1950, they introduced pie cherries, and the farm primarily became a cherry orchard for several decades.

At the time when Yamhill land was first being cleared, the Kristofs, an Armenian family, were living in Eastern Europe. During World War II, they spied on the Nazis for the Allies but were caught and imprisoned, eventually losing their land to the Communists. Ladis Kristof, after being imprisoned by both Nazis and Communists, escaped to France, and in 1952, he was sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church in Portland, Oregon, and made his way to the Pacific Northwest.

Ladis later became a noted political scientist at Portland State University, and his wife, Jane, taught art history. They bought the farm and raised their son, Nicholas, there. Nicholas went on to become a Harvard graduate, a Rhodes Scholar, and a New York Times columnist, marrying Sheryl WuDunn, and together, they won a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting on the pro-democracy student movement in 1990.

As fewer people consumed cherry pies, the Kristofs transitioned from cherries to Pinot Noir grapes and cider apples. Today, they produce about 400 cases of Pinot Noir and 200 cases each of Chardonnay and Rosé annually. Committed to preserving the natural habitat, the Kristof’s are particularly proud that their farm is a wildlife corridor, and have set up cameras to capture the antics of bears and other creatures that share their location. They see this as a true family project, involving their children Jeff and Caroline in decision making, as well as Nick’s mom (92 years young!), who also lives on the property.