Meet Kristin Piro and David Gordon | Owners & Winemakers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristin Piro and David Gordon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristin and David, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
We both are Broadway actors by trade! When the pandemic shut down both of our shows in NYC, we decided to explore some other bubbling passion, WINE! We had taken an interest in all things wine related after coming out to Sonoma for 8 summers to work at a theater. That theater introduced us to the Sonoma community and therefore the wine world! As our interest grew, we always dreamed of exploring this wine culture, but the timing wasn’t ever quite right to be away from NY, our agents, Broadway, etc. We’ve been our “own business” since we started in the arts. As actors, you are always marketing yourself, evolving for roles, honing and training in voice lessons, dance classes, and acting workshops. So, in deciding to dive into the wine industry, it was just another business we wanted to learn more about and market. We are very creative people by nature and enjoy taking on all the accepts of our most recent business, Intermission Cellars! We handle the wine production, blending, and harvesting. We design the artwork, the aesthetic, and all the copy on the bottle and website. We take all the photography and press shots! We like being the boss! So, starting this new business venture as our OWN, was a no brainer!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Intermission Cellars is a company we couldn’t be more proud of. Almost daily we say to each other, “isn’t it amazing what we’ve accomplished in a year?! We’re proud of the way we “pivoted” from our true love, theater, when during the pandemic it essentially evaporated. We guess you could also say that we’re proud yo be people that lead with passion. Both careers that we have, are passion driven, creative, and an art form . Being able to work and make money in something you love to do is something that we’re proud to say we live by! We’re super excited at the growth and opportunities that Intermission Cellars, along with our performing career, has in the works! The options are endless, the interest from others is palpable, and we are pumped! Although it may seem like an easy road, of course there were speed bumps. As an actor/dancer/singer, you get told “NO” many times throughout your career. Most of time, more often than “YES”. All of those “no’s”, had prepared us for any hurdle in the future. Embarking on this new path in the wine industry, we came across a lot of learning curves, and because we were accustomed to “try try again”, we never let it defeat us. That mentality along with patience for a new skillset we were trying to learn, helped us to overcome any challenged we faced. Also, asking for help really served us. We truly believe both of these industries, wine and theater, are made up of people willing to help and offer guidance. Knowing we had the ability to just ASK, made us comfortable with the uncertainty. We always knew we had someone able to walk with us through the difficult decisions and questions.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We love a shoutout! A big part of our business model and why we love the wine industry AND theater, is the connection, community and TEAM that it creates. We love to collaborate and bring people together. Starting Intermission Cellars was a journey that could not have happened without 3 people. First and foremost, Chuck and Cathy Williamson. They are long time friends turned family who constantly welcome us with open arms and offer advice and guidance in all we do. They offered there home when we decided to come to Sonoma and dive into wine. Then, they generously helped us navigate the grapes, and gave us the confidence to actually move forward with making a business out of it! Robert Rex is a well respected winemaker of 50 years. He hired David as an intern and began by teaching him how to make wine. The mentorship grew into teaching us all avenues of the wine industry. From making the wine, to compliance, to corks, bottles, and everything else that goes from grape to bottle, no question was too much or an inconvenience for Robert. He helped us by immersing us in knowledge. He continues to teach us and is currently our supervising winemaker! Without the support of these wonderful people we wouldn’t be able to thrive as we are!

Website: www.IntermissionCellars.com

Instagram: @intermissioncellars

Facebook: Intermission Cellars

Image Credits
@thedrgimage