ABOUT US

The LDT tale begins in Lake Tahoe with two friends, passionate about chasing down good wine, deep powder and occasionally trouble.

After one particularly epic blower day, we settled down for a little après that transitioned into a big evening with more beverages. With stoke still high from the day's adventure, we stayed up late to ponder the meaning of life and the future. Fortune favors the bold and we weren't getting any younger. We agreed to follow our shared passion and that it was time to carve out our spot in the wine world.

That late night conversation turned into daytime discussions and serious strategic planning. We determined it was time to leave our beloved Tahoe powder and, in 2014, LDT Wine Co. made their first vintage in the Willamette Valley.  

Alas, the two hour drive to Meadows from the Valley was unbearable. In 2016 we jumped at the chance to move to the Columbia River Gorge, finally able to combine our passions for wine and skiing and feel that ol' familiar stoke a bit more often. 

 Christopher Stiffler grew up in the suburbs of Boston, but spent most of his weekends in Vermont at Okemo where he developed his love of skiing. After graduating from the University of Vermont with a degree in Economics, he made the move to Lake Tahoe. 

Chris was introduced to the wine industry in Napa Valley through a college friend. He worked his first harvest in Sonoma, opening a place in his heart for winemaking. After a few harvests in the Willamette Valley, and a few more winters in Lake Tahoe, Chris made the move to White Salmon where you can find him pouring wine at the clubhouse and being the loudest New England sports fan around.

McIntosh Forrence was born and raised on a 100-year old family apple orchard in upstate New York near Lake Placid in the shadow of Whiteface Mountain. Instead of following in his father’s footsteps and studying pomology, he swapped vineyards for orchards and studied viticulture and enology at Cornell University.

Upon graduation in 2009, seeking to unlock the secrets of grapes and winemaking, Tosh worked harvests in Napa Valley, New Zealand, Argentina, Sonoma, Burgundy, and Tuscany. 

In 2013 while working in the Willamette Valley, Tosh discovered the glory of Pinot Noir. He moved to his personal paradise, the Columbia River Gorge, in 2016, and when not at the winery, can be found skiing, kayaking, rafting, biking, golfing and tending to his lawn.

Some chicken scratch doodles inspired by an avalanche sign in Hokkaido were refined and elaborated upon by fellow East Coaster, Christopher Delorenzo. 

Given a handful of adjectives for each wine, his illustrations mirror the joy of what you will find inside the bottle. Cowabunga!