Our story.
The land on which Kristof Farms sits was, for over 8000 years, inhabited by Native tribes such as the Yamhill (also known as the Yamel), a tribe of the Kalapooian family and for which our town is now named. Of course, white settlers upended that course of history.
Settlers homesteaded our farm in the 1930s and planted the first orchards of apples, walnuts, and prunes. In 1950, they planted pie cherries, and for many decades it was a cherry farm.
At the time the land was first cleared in Yamhill, the Kristofs were an Armenian family living in Eastern Europe. During World War II, family members spied on the Nazis for the Allies, were caught and imprisoned, and eventually had their lands seized by the Communists. After first being imprisoned by the Nazis for spying, Ladis Kristof fled to Yugoslavia and was then imprisoned by the Communists in a concentration camp. Eventually, he was released and made his way to France, but he dreamed of reaching America. In 1952, the First Presbyterian Church in Portland, Oregon, sponsored him, and he arrived that fall and found a job in a logging camp in Valsetz, Oregon.
Nick's father, Ladis, used to climb up trees to get a shot of the cherry trees blossoming on Kristof Farms
Nick's father, Ladis, used to climb up trees to get a shot of the cherry trees blossoming on Kristof Farms
An old view of the original farmhouse, with cherry trees blossoming around.
Cherry trees in blossom.
An aerial view of Kristof Farms. In the foreground are young Pinot Noir vines. Behind the row of Cyprus trees you will see dwarf and semi-dwarf apple trees (October 2020)
Caroline and Tux run through the semi-dwarf trees, yet to produce fruit! (Spring 2021)
Adam clears brush with the old John Deere Orchard Tractor (Summer 2021)
Nick, Geoffrey, Sheryl, and Caroline check in on the newly planted apple trees. (2019)
Caroline and Nick pose next to the newest addition to the farm: Masonry bees! In the past, we relied on honey bees. (Spring 2021)
Nick, Sheryl, Jane, Ladis, and the kids, along with the best Kuvasz the world has ever seen.
Tux poses for Halloween (October 2020)
Smoke drifts over the Willamette Valley in Summer 2020.
Fall sets in at Kristof Farms
Fall sets in at Kristof Farms
Nick and his dad, Ladis, working on the farm. (1980s)
A view of newly planted Pinot Noir grapes (2019)
New apple tress ready to plant.
A view of the cherry trees. (2017)
A rainbow breaks over the Kristof Farms apple orchard (2020)
After learning English, Ladis became a distinguished political scientist at Portland State University where his wife, Jane, taught art history. They bought the Kristof Farm and raised a son, Nicholas, who grew up on the farm and went to Yamhill schools. Nicholas would go on to become a Harvard graduate, Rhodes Scholar, and New York Times columnist. He married Sheryl WuDunn, a Chinese-American from New York City, and they became the first married couple to win a Pulitzer Prize for journalism. They raised three children, Gregory, Geoffrey, and Caroline.
In the 21st century, fewer people were eating cherry pies and the Kristofs began to consider next steps for their orchard. Nick and Sheryl were writing a book, “Tightrope,” about the struggles of the working class and sought to support a higher value-added agriculture in the area. They decided to replace the cherry orchard with Pinot Noir grapes and cider apples.
Three generations of Kristofs have poured their souls into this project. We hope that people around the world will find the resulting wine and cider refreshing, invigorating and as gloriously complex as the story of the Kristof farm.