Winemaker
Michael Davies
- Discipline
- Winemaker
- Based in
- Newberg, Oregon, United States
i. Biography
Before Michael Davies became Executive Winemaker at A to Z Wineworks in Newberg, Oregon, the work had already been shaped by Lincoln University in New Zealand and by the vineyard-and-cellar discipline that followed at Chehalem. Pinot Noir runs through that path from the start: studied, farmed, made, and later carried into The Essence of Oregon Pinot Noir.
The Climb
Training at Lincoln University (NZ) in 1997 gave Michael Davies the academic base for a career that would be defined by the practical demands of vineyard and winery work. The next step at Chehalem, where he served as Vineyard Manager and Assistant Winemaker, required the kind of discipline this trade asks for: attention to fruit, timing, and the daily pressure of getting both vineyard and cellar right.
Today
At A to Z Wineworks in Newberg, Davies has held the Executive Winemaker role while his Winemaker role there dates to 2006. That continuity matters in wine work. It points to long stewardship, to staying with a house through changing seasons and vintages, and to shaping a program from inside it rather than passing through. He has also served as Chief Winemaker at REX HILL. Read together, those roles place his work across two named Oregon wine programs, with Pinot Noir as the specialty attached to his name. The significance is in the repetition and the difference: the same grape, worked through two programs, with the same attention to detail and the same pressure to keep nuance intact. In a category defined by site and season, Davies describes one bottling in terms that leave the wine open to change: "For me the Jacob-Hart Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir! This is a mercurial wine, presenting a slightly different face of Pinot Noir every year, subject to the season at hand and the people involved."
Career - Winemaker — A to Z Wineworks, Newberg, Oregon (2006–present) - Executive Winemaker — A to Z Wineworks, Newberg, Oregon (2016–present) - Chief Winemaker — REX HILL, Willamette Valley, Oregon - Vineyard Manager and Assistant Winemaker — Chehalem Education: Lincoln University (NZ)
Signature
Michael's signature wines include Jacob-Hart Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir and The Essence of Oregon Pinot Noir. One is tied to a named estate; the other reaches for a wider reading of Oregon. Together, they show the range of his Pinot Noir work without leaving the grape behind.
In Their Words “For me the Jacob-Hart Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir! This is a mercurial wine, presenting a slightly different face of Pinot Noir every year, subject to the season at hand and the people involved.” “To make a Pinot Noir at $20 or less we have to challenge conventional wisdom.”
Recognition
"To make a Pinot Noir at $20 or less we have to challenge conventional wisdom." The line sits naturally beside his work at A to Z Wineworks, where the question is not only technical but structural: how to make a Pinot Noir that stays exacting and expressive within reach. Trained in both viticulture and enology, Davies treats the grape as a living discipline, one that answers to season, people, and price and rewards the patience that comes from years in vineyard and cellar.
FAQ What is Michael Davies's current role? As of 2026, Michael Davies is Executive Winemaker. Where did Michael Davies train or study? Michael Davies trained at Lincoln University (NZ). What is Michael Davies known for? Pinot Noir.
