(Eugene, OR) — King Estate Winery Co-Founder and CEO Ed King has appointed Brent Stone to the position of Winemaker, and has named Cody Stacey as Assistant Winemaker.
Stone and Stacey join Winemaker Spencer Spetnagel and Assistant Winemaker Barrett Rosteck under the leadership of Ray Nuclo, Director of Viticulture and Winery Operations.
“Brent and Cody are tremendous additions to the winemaking team,” Nuclo says. “With their diverse experience and palates, they expand and enhance our ability to produce outstanding Northwest wines.”
Stone has more than 15 years’ experience in quality assurance, quality control, research and development. He began his career as a research and development chemist and managed food laboratories and quality assurance programs for several years in the dairy industry.
Stone joined King Estate as the Lab Manager in 2011 where he quickly gained an appreciation for wine. Before assuming his new role Stone was the winery’s Director of Quality Assurance and Laboratory Operations. He received formal training in enology at Washington State University and is currently completing graduate work in agricultural food and life sciences at the University of Arkansas.
Assistant Winemaker Cody Stacey has more than a decade of wine industry experience, most recently with Cairdean Vineyards in St. Helena, Calif., where he was Associate Winemaker. In that capacity he played a leading role in designing and building Cairdean’s winery. He has a degree in enology from California State University, Fresno. In addition to winemaking, Stacey has worked in sales and spent a year as a research assistant to a professor of viticulture at CSU Fresno.
About King Estate: King Estate is located southwest of Eugene, Ore., at the southern tip of the Willamette Valley. Founded in 1991 by the King family, King Estate is committed to producing wines of exceptional quality under sustainable farming methods, organic certification with Oregon Tilth, and was recently certified Biodynamic® by Demeter USA. King Estate produces world-class Oregon Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir from the famed Willamette Valley, and wines from the inland growing regions of Oregon and Washington under its North by Northwest label. To this day, King Estate is owned and operated by the King family.
