Cristie Kerr

48 minutes

Cristie Kerr discovered golf at the age of eight growing up in Florida. She played on her high school’s boys team and by her late teens went pro, becoming one of the most successful players in LPGA history. Bringing the same drive she has in golf, Kerr has started two wine brands: the first one, Curvature, which raised funds for breast cancer research, and her latest with winemaker Helen Keplinger is Kerr Cellars. Enjoy! For more visit: kerrcellars.com


Full Transcript

Doug Shafer:
Hey everybody Doug Shafer, welcome back to The Taste. Um, because we're in these crazy times, I'm gonna give you the date. We're recording on Tuesday, April 21st, 2020, uh, via phone and uh, technology. And we've got a great guest today, Christie Kerr. Um, I've... Christie, you have to bear with me. I've got to tell everybody all about you. One of the most accomplished-

Cristie Kerr:
... (laughs)

Doug Shafer:
...accomplished athletes in women's golf. She's accumulated 20 LPGA victories, including two major championships, nine Solheim Cup appearances, four Wendy's tour victories, and over 180 top 10 finishes. She's involved in fundraising for a ton of incredible charitable organizations, which we'll talk about. She's got a ton of accomplishments. She's got two little kids. She's stuck at home, (laughs) and on top of that, she's a Napa Valley Vintner, so Christie, welcome to The Taste.

Cristie Kerr:
Thank you for having me. I'm, I'm very, I'm very honored to be in, in great company on this, uh, uh, podcast.

Doug Shafer:
Hey, are you kidding? You, you can st- you can stick greens and hit the golf ball like really, really well. I mean, I'm honored to be talking to you. In fact, I'm really upset you're not here cause I need some help with my short game, but I'll, I'll need a lot of help with my short game, but … anyway, uh, how are you doing? Where are you guys at? Where are you, where are you hold up right now?

Cristie Kerr:
We are in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona where the golf courses are still open.

Doug Shafer:
Wow.

Cristie Kerr:
And um, yeah, yeah. Only, but I mean, the clubs only allow members to come and you have to go on separate carts or walk.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
And, um, you know, some of the hiking trails are still open, which is nice because-

Doug Shafer:
Yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
... it's going to get up into the upper nineties next week. So enjoy the good weather while we have it.

Doug Shafer:
Nice. Nice. I was going to ask you about practicing cause the golf courses around here are shut down. So, uh, I was wondering if you were able to play and practice. That's, that's good news I guess, huh?

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah. I mean nobody really knows when we're going to start back. So I think we're supposed to hear something on May 1st from the LPGA. Um, nobody really knows. I mean we're going to have at least six weeks, um, to prep before the, the, I would say the first event back.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
Uh, which, who knows when that'll be and who knows what that's going to look like. Um, fans or no fans, so there'll be plenty of time, you know, I mean, and I have two young kids and they can keep me very busy and we have to homeschool our six year old now because-

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
... all the schools are close through the end of the year. So it's still pretty busy. I've, I've actually learned, um, to enjoy cleaning my house. (laughs).

Doug Shafer:
(laughs). Wow.

Cristie Kerr:
And uh, drinking a lot of wine. Trying, trying to get some business done. Um, uh, I am also studying to be a sommelier. I passed my level one with a quartermaster sommeliers two years ago. So take it pretty seriously.

Doug Shafer:
Oh, good for you. That's really-

Cristie Kerr:
Thanks.

Doug Shafer:
That's good. I saw that. We'll talk more about that in a minute, but let's start in the beginning. What, you know, where were you born? Where'd you grow up? Let's go all the way back.

Cristie Kerr:
Whoa. Come way back.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah, we're going way back.

Cristie Kerr:
Way back. Um, I was born, uh, on Miami beach, uh, in Florida, uh, Mount Sinai Hospital and live there pretty much until I was 20 and then started traveling around the world playing professional golf.

Doug Shafer:
Wow.

Cristie Kerr:
Uh, lived in Miami, California, Texas. Um, you know, from traveling around, just playing, I just fell in love with Arizona and the desert. It was completely different than what I grew up with, which were Palm trees and water. And this is desert and mountains and dryer climate. Um, no humidity. So I just kinda, I, I fell in love with, with Scottsdale. You know, coming here, playing in LPGA events and you know, my husband and I came, you know, for a decade before we decided to finally move there part-time and subsequently full time. So, uh, you know, pretty busy.

Doug Shafer:
There you go. So growing up siblings, mom and dad, what were they, what were they doing? Did you have any siblings? How'd that all work out?

Cristie Kerr:
I have a half sister, 10 years older, but we had different fathers and she lived in New York and Connecticut and stuff and I didn't really see her much.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
So we're not real close. Um, but her half-brother Stevie Lewis is, I considered to be like my brother, brother-brother, even though, you know, he's got no blood relation-

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
... to me, which is, you know, that's sometimes that's the way family works out. So, um, and my mom and dad, uh, they're from New York. They, they moved down to Florida before I was born. Um, so all my family's either in Long Island or Manhattan. Um still, and um, they've been divorced for like 30 years, so, um-

Doug Shafer:
Yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
... I just moved my mom out to Scottsdale actually.

Doug Shafer:
Oh, great. I had a, I had a stint in Arizona, I taught junior high school in Tucson back before I got into making wine.

Cristie Kerr:
Sounds like the wild, wild West.

Doug Shafer:
(laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
Still.

Doug Shafer:
It, It's still, it's still that way. Yeah, I can believe it. It was meant to.

Cristie Kerr:
So it's definitely dusty or like a more artsy town.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, than, uh, than Phoenix is more Metro.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah. Yeah. How about a wine at home growing up? Was that part of the home scene?

Cristie Kerr:
No, it wasn't.

Doug Shafer:
Interesting.

Cristie Kerr:
It wasn't, it, it definitely wasn't. Um, you know, neither of my parents really drank and um, it wasn't till I started traveling around the world and playing in golf tournaments all over the place and finally got to the opportunity in the late nineties, early two thousands for four or five years in a row to play in the Samsung world championship of women's golf. It was a top 30 invite only no cut event-

Doug Shafer:
Yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
... which is great for the Napa Valley.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, and um, you know, I had just come of age to drink and just sort of going around wine tasting and with my friends, played practice rounds really early and just really enjoyed the Valley. And got to meet a lot of people and over many, many years, over 12 years of going there, made a lot of friends, vintners, winemakers, um, just fell in love with it-

Doug Shafer:
Yeah. I'm conc- curious about you and golf because you know, you started playing at age eight. How did that happen? How did, how'd the whole golf thing happened for you?

Cristie Kerr:
Well, um, you know, growing up in Miami's kind of a rough place to, to grow up. There's a lot of crimes. There's a lot of drugs and um, my parents were, my father was a school teacher, my mom was like a paralegal. And, um, you know, my father really stressed academics to me and getting me involved in sports. Um, just a way of just keeping me out of trouble. Like any youth down there-

Doug Shafer:
Wow.

Cristie Kerr:
... you need them to give them positive influences, um, so that they can, you know, grow up with the right morality, the right values. And, um, you know, both of my parents were the athletes that almost made it to the professional ranks. Um, my mom was a swimmer, my dad played baseball but, but didn't quite make it.

Doug Shafer:
Uh-huh.

Cristie Kerr:
So I guess I was the one in the family that, that made it. They just, they tried a lot of different sports with me and um, in golf was the one that stuck. And, um, I guess I made it. (laughs).

Doug Shafer:
That's cool. Well, any other, other sports while you're doing the golf thing? High school team sports or anything like that or not?

Cristie Kerr:
I mean, I tried tennis. I wasn't great at tennis. Um, I was very good academically. I could have gone to college on an academic scholarship. Um, I did bowling when I, when I grew up.

Doug Shafer:
(laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
I, you know, I tried like, you know, girls softball and stuff and, but golf was really the one that just stuck.

Doug Shafer:
That's pretty cool.

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah.

Doug Shafer:
And, uh, and I read, so you played in high school, on the golf team?

Cristie Kerr:
I did. I did play in high school. I played on the boys team, um, for nearly four years because they didn't have a, a woman's team.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
So I, I had to compete against the boys.

Doug Shafer:
How was that?

Cristie Kerr:
It, it was tough in the beginning. Because they didn't want to, you know, they didn't want a girl to compete against them or with them and, um, you know, subsequently beat them.

Doug Shafer:
(laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
But, um, it was, um, you know, my, my dad always said the best, let your clubs do the talking and you know, they'll respect you. And that's, that's what ended up happening. I have still have great friends from, you know, being on that high school team for four years and, and I still keep in touch with them and um, you know, you make friendships for a lifetime doing that kind of stuff.

Doug Shafer:
Right. So I, I was thinking about you yesterday and this whole, in the whole pro golfer thing and just a pro athlete. When did you, I mean, because even like with me for wine making, I was talking to David Graves the other day, um, and we both been making wine over 30 years. And, um, I asked him, I said, do, do you ever feel like you totally have it? He goes, "No." I said, "Me either." So as a pro athlete, when did you, when did it click? When did you actually think to yourself, hey, I'm, I'm really good at this. Not that you're being vain or anything like that. It's like, man, this can, I can really do this. I can be a pro. When did that happen?

Cristie Kerr:
I don't, I don't know if I ever really looked at it that way because I always felt like I was fated to do this. Like I was born to do this.

Doug Shafer:
Wow.

Cristie Kerr:
It wasn't like a realization that I was really good. Um, I mean, I think that came along the way, but I mean, even now as a pro golfer doing it for 25 years, you still don't feel like you have it. Just like you guys, you still don't feel like you ever really have it. But, um, I don't know. Like, yeah, a lot of people say, how do you know you were supposed to do this? And I said, since I was 10 years old watching Freddy Couples on the bed in my bedroom, like hanging up in the bank on number 12, like at Augusta, like watching him win the masters, like watching, you know-

Doug Shafer:
Yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
Like I, I've always known that I was meant to play professional golf and I feel like sometimes things in life are just God-given.

Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm.

Cristie Kerr:
And I feel like I never questioned that even when it got tough. I have always had faith that things would turn around and, and you never give up. I mean, and that's, I think that's been kind of like my mantra, my, my spirit is that I, I never give up. And maybe that's one of the reasons I've been successful, but, um, I've always felt like I was meant to do this. Whether it was, you know, my parents helped to give me that confidence that I could do it. I mean, it wasn't all easy going along, growing up, playing in junior amateur tournaments and then professionally I didn't succeed in the beginning. And you just wonder why, why me? Like why? And I, the only reason I can turn to is God-given talent. It's God-given perseverance and I'm one of the people that he's chosen on the earth to do good things and give back.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
And I feel like that's really kind of why I've succeeded.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah. Well, and, and you know, I was reading, I'm reading up on you. I mean you were a junior golf champion, Florida state champion three years in a row, 93, 94, 95 that's starting at age 16 that's pretty, that's pretty amazing. I mean, that's, that's really cool. (laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah.

Doug Shafer:
I'm just, you know.

Cristie Kerr:
I did. I've done a lot of really cool things and I feel like I'm turning 43 this year and I'm like having to write them all down now and remember them all because (laughs).

Doug Shafer:
(laughs) join the club my friend.

Cristie Kerr:
Like I want, yeah, exactly. I've won like 20 tournaments in a European tour event and like if I had to remember them right now, I couldn't tell you offhand. (laughs) Like what they were. Um, I can tell you my last three because they came in one year in 17, but, um, I have my perpetual mommy brain.

Doug Shafer:
Well, you know -

Cristie Kerr:
I'm like, I'm like why did I go in the fridge? Why did I go in the pantry? Where's my phone?

Doug Shafer:
(laughs) Yeah. I don't know. You know, it's, it's funny cause I don't know if it's a memory thing with age or it's just a, you know, we all have that many more years that I've got the questions, you know, like, hey, what was the ‘88 harvest like? It's like, oh man, I don't remember that. That was a long time ago. You know, it was-

Cristie Kerr:
No, there's a reason Wine Spectator publishes vintage charts. (laughs).

Doug Shafer:
(laughs) That's the reason, I knew it. Oh, so after these junior tournaments and so you forego college and decided to go pro, I was curious about that decision going pro, skipping college were your folks okay with that? Was that a tough decision? I, you know, tell me about that one.

Cristie Kerr:
We made it as a family. Um, I mean I was so immensely talented and my GPA was 4.35 and I finished high school pretty much in my junior year so that I could do a work study program for Jim McLean and, and, and, you know, work for his golf schools and, um, he's, he's always been my big mentors is Jim McLean.

Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, you know, one of the top, you know three coaches ever. Um, and so I got to work at his golf schools and practice and stuff and get ready to play professional golf like my, my parents and I made a decision that if golf didn't work out with my grades, I could always go back to school and get a degree. We, we didn't like the idea of going for a year and quitting.

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
Going for two years and quitting and taking a scholarship away from another female athlete because at the time there weren't that many available. Um, so it was either this, the decision to try to go to school, cause if I went to school, I was going to go for four, four years and get a degree.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, if, and if I wanted to try to play golf, I was gonna try to play golf. So, you know, it was one or the other and my grades were good enough that I could have gone on an academic scholarship after. So, uh, it was a decision to go all in.

Doug Shafer:
That's so cool. So you're like, ah, this was 96, 97, right?

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah, mm-hmm.

Doug Shafer:
Right, so you're 18, 19, 20 and your dad was a big help, right? That's what I was reading.

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah. I mean, my mom stayed at home and, you know, took care of the house-

Doug Shafer:
Sure.

Cristie Kerr:
... and my dad um, took a sabbatical from, you know, teaching. He, you know, my dad taught K through five for 40 years.

Doug Shafer:
Wow.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, and um, you know, he traveled with me for my first couple of years until I was ready to do it on my own. So, uh, it was, it was, it was very difficult the first couple of years because transitioning from junior and amateur golf to professional golf was kind of a shock. I mean, you know, I was head and shoulders above everybody in junior and amateur golf, um, most of the time. But you know, in professional golf everybody can play every week.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
So, you know, it took me six years to win my first tournament.

Doug Shafer:
Wow. Let's say and that, but that was probably challenging cause you'd won so much as a, as a, as a junior, as an amateur.

Cristie Kerr:
Shock.

Doug Shafer:
But, yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
Complete shock. But you know, I mean, I think as a young person everybody can have a little bit too much overconfidence when they think they're really good at something and then they realize a lot of other people are good at it too.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah, let's, yeah, cause the whole, the whole, the pressure must've just been totally different. Um-

Cristie Kerr:
Totally different.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
I mean, and you see it, you see, you even see it now with like Maria Fossey. I mean she carries the ball off the tee like 265 to 270. You know, she's the longest out there-

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
... but she's struggling to make cuts because golf really is about winning that battle within yourself.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah. (laughs) I know. I mean, very, very amateur golfer and it's, uh, we have a love-hate relationship through the years, so -

Cristie Kerr:
Well, Silverado, Silverado is very close to Shafer-

Doug Shafer:
Yeah, buts-

Cristie Kerr:
... so you can go there anytime you want. (laughs).

Doug Shafer:
That's, no excuses I know, I'm busy. I'm making wine. Got to make wine.

Cristie Kerr:
Making wine, making wine, you know, you know, the summer months, uh, (laughs).

Doug Shafer:
(laughs) Uh, you know too much about my business since, since you're a vintner too.

Cristie Kerr:
I do.

Doug Shafer:
So you're cranking this golf and so how, what happened with the wine thing, you touched on earlier, there was a tournament up here, you started coming up, going to wineries. Tell me, tell me more about that.

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah. In my early twenties, I'm just, obviously I'd traveled the world but never really, you know, I'd, I'd always liked wine, but I'd never really dove into it. And once I got to kind of a behind-the-scenes look, um, with a bunch of different wineries in Napa, um, you know, it was, you know, whether it was going to visit Turley or Staglin or, or I've been to Shafer as well. Like it, it was really, really interesting to me, the minutia of everything. And, and how wine is a living, breathing product, you know, and it's ever changing.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
And I felt like there were a lot of correlations between that and golf and, um, I just-

Doug Shafer:
Interesting.

Cristie Kerr:
... started learning about it, just really started learning about it, making a lot of friends. Um, and we, you know, we approached a couple of different wineries about doing a project and a big company approached us and we really didn't see eye to eye on the, the type of wine that we wanted to make. And I wanted to make a very high end Napa Valley cab just because my palate really loved it.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
And, um, you know, I got the opportunity to go meet with Suzanne Pride from Pride Mountain Vineyards and um, you know, after meeting with a few other wineries, um, actually Dave Miner raised $25,000 for our breast cancer charity. Um, a lot of people don't know how much he's into the philanthropic, uh, aspect of things. But, um-

Doug Shafer:
Yeah, talk, talk to me. I'm going to, I'm interrupting you. Sorry, coach.

Cristie Kerr:
Sure.

Doug Shafer:
But um, talk to me a little bit about that. Your charity, the whole breast cancer charity, which was big cause that was like 2003 or so. What, tell me about that.

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah. My mother was diagnosed in 2002 with breast cancer. Um, uh, stage two. Um, she had a lumpectomy radiation, um, and, and has been a survivor for a long time now.

Doug Shafer:
Wow.

Cristie Kerr:
And her sister had it. My godmother had it, my best friend's mother had it. And it just, I felt very helpless. I had always gone to other people's charity events just to support things.

Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm.

Cristie Kerr:
And I felt very helpless at the time going through, um, not being able to really except to go to visits, not being able to really do anything. Um, and so I took matters into my own hands and my husband and I created Birdies for Breast Cancer and we started very modestly where, you know, to this day I still give $50 per birdie I make, um, you know, an Eagle is double that.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
And, uh, I get, you know, my sponsors to match me, donations. You know, we, we didn't have an event this past year just because of, um, you know, getting our new business off the ground. But, um, you know, we, we raised over four and a half million dollars for breast cancer research and about a 13 year period of time, we've had 12 events. Uh, we have a women's health center in New Jersey still-

Doug Shafer:
Wow.

Cristie Kerr:
... um, that, uh, is all privately funded and anybody can go get diagnosed, treated, counsels, whether they have the ability to pay or not. So we're very, very proud of that.

Doug Shafer:
And the, the, the operation in Jersey, that's called the Christie Kerr Women's Health Center. Right?

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
And I did not actually want it named after me. And the groundbreaking was really funny. The, um, the preset made a joke, you know, you've done something really good and important when they named something after you when you're still alive. (laughs).

Doug Shafer:
(laughs) How come? Why is it New Jersey if you're based in Arizona and Florida?

Cristie Kerr:
Because, um, we lived in New York-

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
... you know, for my husband's from New York City, my whole family's from New York City or Long Island. Um, and, I lived in New York City with my husband since 2002-

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
2003, so um, I played out, I still play, I still a member of Liberty National Golf Club and I became very close to the Fireman family and the Fireman family obvio- obviously owns a lot of golf courses and, um, Liberty National Golf Club, um, in Jersey City is one of them where they have the Barclays, they've had the, you know, the president's cup there-

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
... um, I'm fortunate enough to be an ambassador for that golf course still. And I had a great relationship with a Fireman family. Fireman started Reebok in the United States and, and they're massive into philanthropic causes. And um, they knew, they knew people at Jersey City Medical Center and we came up with an idea to have an event there for 10 years and pledge a, a million and a half dollars. And, and we, we met that, um, you know, that, that grant I guess or whatever you call it-

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
... the, the money that you give. Um, so it was sort of like, right time, right place, let's do something really cool that'll help the community. And, um, you know, I lived right in the West Village and I played right at Liberty National Golf Clubs, so I was sort of a local.

Doug Shafer:
That's cool. So Birdies for Breast Cancer and kind of curious, can people contribute that, to that? Just to-

Cristie Kerr:
They can.

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
They can, they can go to-

Doug Shafer:
There's a website for it, I'm sure.

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah, they can go to birdiesforbreastcancer.com.

Doug Shafer:
Okay. And when you have events, are they just like a fundraisers or is it like a golf event? What type of?

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah, they're golf tournaments, they're golf tournaments. So they're usually like a pre party the night before. Um, and um, you know, a full breakfast and golf day and auction and dinner and stuff after.

Doug Shafer:
Super.

Cristie Kerr:
And Thomas, our last one we did was at the Olympic club in San Francisco because we moved it out West because of the wine business.

Doug Shafer:
(laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
So ... um, yeah.

Doug Shafer:
Well, good. So, so would you tag me so I can donate a big bottle of wine for this thing please?

Cristie Kerr:
Absolutely.

Doug Shafer:
And, and I-

Cristie Kerr:
I might just bet on it. (laughs).

Doug Shafer:
Good. And I won't, I won't play, but maybe I can come down, carry your bag for a couple of holes just for fun.

Cristie Kerr:
It’s pretty cool. You know, um, I got to the privilege of playing with, with Thomas Keller the entire day, the last time.

Doug Shafer:
(laughs) oh, fun.

Cristie Kerr:
So he's a a big golfer.

Doug Shafer:
He's a, he's a, he's a big golfer. Yeah, I heard about that.

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah, he's a big golfer and I, I feel like, uh, what's, what's happening, the restaurants right now is just brutal.

Doug Shafer:
I know, it's tough.

Cristie Kerr:
So, um, uh, whether it's Ming Tsai or chef Tim Hollingsworth or Daniel Boulud or chef Keller, like you, they all have respective foundations. You guys can all go online-

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
... and uh, and donate to, but, um, Gavin Kaysen up in Minnesota, um, I got to meet all these guys like during the Robb Report event that we did in San Diego. And um, you know, I've known chef Keller for a long time before that. But yeah, so we have golf tournaments and celebrities come and golfers and people can buy foursomes.

Doug Shafer:
Cool.

Cristie Kerr:
And um, we, we just took a year off, we just took a year off because we're trying to find a permanent home for this. And, and it's, it's hard because it's moved around a bit, but, um, I dunno, maybe Napa Valley's is it.

Doug Shafer:
Maybe Napa, you know. (laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
Definitely and Johnny Miller, um, um, you know, I guess when you become successful enough as a professional golfer, people want you to play out of their courses. So, um, you know, I'm, uh, I'm lucky enough to be able to go out to Silverado. So maybe that's it.

Doug Shafer:
There you go. Let me know.

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah.

Doug Shafer:
Just up the road.

Cristie Kerr:
Mm-hmm.

Doug Shafer:
Very cool. Um, so back, so you met Suzanne Pride at Pride vintner Pride Winery. That's that, that's-

Cristie Kerr:
Yes.

Doug Shafer:
... how you hooked up with find up someone to help make you, make wine, right?

Cristie Kerr:
Well, my husband knew somebody in a previous life, like, like industry-wise, Um in the, the health and fitness industry. And then this person went to work for like a massive, massive wine … and wine company -

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
... and you know, from 2006 to 2007 and a half, um, we kind of went back and forth as far as what we wanted to do and never saw really eye to eye on the kind of, kind of wine and, and how we wanted to do it. So, um, I kinda took matters into my own hands in 2008 and just wrote emails basically to a bunch of different vintners that I have become friendly with. And, and Pride Mountain Vineyards was, you know, the one that, well, Miner was interested, but, uh, you know, the timing wasn't right-

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
... but Dave Miner did raise $25,000 for our breast cancer charity, which is amazing.

Doug Shafer:
That's great.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, and um, you know, the Prides were like, when can you come out here? And we were out there five days later going, well, if something works out -

Doug Shafer:
(laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
... it works out. And if not we'll have a nice couple day holiday in Napa.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
My husband and I. So, um, you know, Tim, we got to meet everybody at Pride. Tim Boucher was a good friend of ours, just the tasting room manager up at Pride and, and if anybody hasn't gone up to Pride or to Shafer, I really implore them to.

Doug Shafer:
(laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
Um, uh, and became very friendly with Suzanne. Got to sit and talk to her about our vision and you know, she tried to dissuade us from, from doing this and you know, after about an hour of telling us why, like we shouldn't do this. It's hard. Nobody, you know, it's hard to succeed, marketing.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
How are you going to sell it, distribution, all this. Um, I told her I wanted to make 150 cases of high end Napa Valley Cabernet and I didn't want to make any money on it. And she was like, "I'm sorry?" (laughs).

Doug Shafer:
(laughs). That's great.

Cristie Kerr:
I said, I want to, you know, we were knee-deep in our, our foundation work and I said, I want to give the money away to breast cancer research. So we-

Doug Shafer:
Wow.

Cristie Kerr:
... we, we, uh, it, it was pretty, pretty amazing story. She was being treated for breast cancer at the same time.

Doug Shafer:
Oh -

Cristie Kerr:
Her father was, had blad- bladder cancer. They would hold hands during treatment and-

Doug Shafer:
Wow.

Cristie Kerr:
... um, he didn't make it and she did. And you know, she's always been really entrenched with the V Foundation and a lot of other altruistic causes, but she was like, let's do this.

Doug Shafer:
Wow.

Cristie Kerr:
So we created a grant uh, for research, um, at Stanford hospital and you know, we gave, I think it was $150,000 at least to $200,000-

Doug Shafer:
Wow.

Cristie Kerr:
... from the profits of curvature over the years. So we, it was cool. She was like, you're either going to get popular, and start another brand one day and leave the nest or we're going to kick you out. (laughs). And lucky, luckily, yeah-

Doug Shafer:
So it’s called - was called, it was called Curvature, right? And still going, Curvature.

Cristie Kerr:
Curvature. It was kind of a play off um, my name, which I, I did not want to name it after myself because I wanted people to see the wine for what it was. And, uh, you know, as you know, having an altruistic, uh, stigma behind the wine, people automatically think it's not going to be good. And then it started to get a lot of accolades. It got served in the White House at a state dinner. We, we, you know, we're starting to show up on lists at the French laundry and-

Doug Shafer:
Yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
... you know, a lot of other restaurants and it became pretty popular and people really got the wine and, um, what it was and, and, um, it was a great Napa Valley cab at a great price for a great cause. And-

Doug Shafer:
And you're still, and you're still making it, right?

Cristie Kerr:
Well, 2000, we just, we talked about doing it for 10 years.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
And um, Suzanne started divesting, um, you know, a little bit of what she was doing at the winery and you know, we started our, our new project, you know, our new brand Kerr Cellars, um, of which we got introduced to Helen Keplinger from Sally Johnson, who's the winemaker up at Pride.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, and, um, you know, we, we did it for whatever, 10, 12 years.

Doug Shafer:
That's fantastic.

Cristie Kerr:
So that's a pretty good run.

Doug Shafer:
That's a great run and, and something you don't know. Oh, maybe you might. Suzanne's husband, Stewart Brian was sales manager here at Shafer back in the gosh or mid-90s I think for four or five years.

Cristie Kerr:
I do know. I do know that.

Doug Shafer:
You do know that okay. So my-

Cristie Kerr:
And I know, I know Stewart very well.

Doug Shafer:
I thought that was going to be a big surprise. Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
Stuart's the driving reason why we make Sauvignon, the driving reason behind why we make a great Sauvignon Blanc right now.

Doug Shafer:
That's true. He's good guy. Good guy. Great.

Cristie Kerr:
Amazing guy.

Doug Shafer:
Great, that's a small world.

Cristie Kerr:
Very small.

Doug Shafer:
So that, that a big success over 10, 12, 14 years and then all of a sudden you got a new brand coming, tell me about that. That was 2012 you start up?

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah, 2012 we met Helen Keplinger-

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
...and we had lunch. We talked about, you know, what we were doing with the Prides we talked about possibly because of the success of that wanting to start, you know, a full profit winery- ... um, label. And, um, we just hit it off immediately and uh, looked at each other across the way and said, what do you want to make? Well, what do you want to make?

Doug Shafer:
(laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
And you know, in 2013, I mean, and she's just, Sally Johnson's amazing. Helen's amazing. I mean, there's so many great people in the Napa Valley. I'm so, I'm, my gut is wrenching for all you guys right now. All the wineries that are so hurting because of this. Um, but, um, you know, Helen and I, the through sourcing and, and what we were able to, to get in the relationships in the great growers, um, because we're negotiants, um, we were able to make an amazing Sauvignon Blanc, which was Sauv Blanc, Muscat, Semillon and in some years we added a little Sauvert.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, uh, basically a single vineyard, uh, Pinot from Sonoma coast-

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, from the Ulysses Valdez family. And, um, you know, we made a, you know, there was so many, so many strong Napa Valley cabs and it's getting more and more competitive. We wanted to come out of the box with something different.

Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm.

Cristie Kerr:
So we decided to make like a Bordeaux style blend, which was straight 50/50 Cab Merlot um, you know, from some, from great sourcing in, in Napa and up on Pritchard Hill. And, um, so we came out with a reserve red wine, a proprietary blend. And, um, out of the box I got 98 points from, from Robert Parker.

Doug Shafer:
Nice.

Cristie Kerr:
So I mean, you can't really, yeah-

Doug Shafer:
Good start.

Cristie Kerr:
... you can't really, uh, yeah, it's a great start. It's amazing start.

Doug Shafer:
So you've got the three wines and you've got how, how many cases total?

Cristie Kerr:
Well, that was in 2013.

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, and coming up in 2018 when, when all of those get, you know, obviously, um, we're going to be bottling in May for our Bordeaux. Um, we'll have hit about 3,500 case production and we'll have about nine SKU.

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
So we'll have our Sauvignon Blanc, we'll have two single vineyard, um, Sonoma coast, um, Chardonnay, one from Rudd vineyard and one from the UV vineyard.

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
We'll have a Manzanita Pinot, a single vineyard from Sonoma coast. We'll have, um, you know, a straight Appalachian Napa Valley cab. We will have, um, what else do we have? Uh, we'll have three single vineyard Napa Valley cab from, um, from Wappo, from um, um, Georges the third, Beckstoffer's Georges the third.

Doug Shafer:
Right, right.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, and also from, uh, the Red Hen Vineyard, which is, um, Bart Auraujo's old estate.

Doug Shafer:
Uh-huh.

Cristie Kerr:
Uh, we'll have also a single vineyard, Petit Verdot, um, from Sage Ridge, which is pretty exciting.

Doug Shafer:
Wow. So, okay. I'm, you're in Scottsdale, you're professional golfer, you're married, you've got two kids under six years old. You, your golf career has you traveling all the time. You're making these beautiful wines in Napa Valley with Helen. How do you, (laughs) how do you do, how do you do it and how, and what's, how's it work with you and production and harvest and blending. And how do you, I was curious about that.

Cristie Kerr:
Well, I, you know, honestly, I feel like I juggle a lot of things really well. Um, obviously I'm in the latter years of my golf career, so, you know, wine is starting to become more and more of a focus. Um, you know, I do all, all the blending with Helen. We, we blend probably four or five times a year. Um, you know, I've got an amazing team around us. Um, Matthew Lane who's Napa based, who is our global sales director and EVP.

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
The director of operations Abby Diviak, Chaela Ciongoli used to live in Napa is now in San Diego. Um, Kelly Keeney, who's our, also a professional golfer two time amatuer champion and tour champion is our director of events and she lives in Dallas.

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
So we, we have a lot of support. And my husband's the president, my husband, Eric is, Eric Stevens is the president of the company. So I have a lot of support around me so that when I'm playing, I'm able to focus on my playing-

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
... and when it's time to go and take the hour and a half flight to Napa, we go.

Doug Shafer:
(laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
So, um, you know, I try to get up there as much as possible. Um, you know, I mean obviously-

Doug Shafer:
Yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
... with COVID, who knows what's going to happen. Thank God it's not in the peak of harvest.

Doug Shafer:
Right. Right.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, but Helen, we rely a ton on Helen and Helen's a rock star.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah, she, yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
She, she helps us with everything, all our sourcing and um, you know, we have a great label company and MCC and in Scott Ritter over there. So we've got a great team.

Doug Shafer:
Good. It sounds like it, well Helen's great. She was on here a few months ago on the, on sat down with me and it was really good to get to know her and hear her story. Fascinating. But uh, and she makes really good wine.

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah, and she is, she makes really good wine and she is, she's very meticulous and persnickety like I am. And um, I've learned a ton from her. Every time I sit down and I try not to interject too much because she really is the, you know, one of the Dalai Lama's of wine. (laughs).

Doug Shafer:
There you go. Um, and you mentioned Eric, your husband. How'd you guys meet?

Cristie Kerr:
He, um, was my agent-

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
... believe it or not, I was actually engaged to somebody else when I first met him.

Doug Shafer:
(laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
Um, and this person, that's a whole nother ball of wax. Um, nothing nefarious happened.

Doug Shafer:
That's okay.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, I was in, I was engaged to somebody in the Marine Corps and, um, we were two months away from our wedding and then September 11th happened and-

Doug Shafer:
Oh, yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
... he was going to be deployed. And I was like, I don't know if I can do this.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
... I'm sorry if we're meant to be, well we're meant to be. And we weren't. Uh, and Eric helped me through the whole thing. And then, you know, about a year later we got together and the rest is history.

Doug Shafer:
So he was, he was your agent. Does he play golf?

Cristie Kerr:
He likes to play golf. He um-

Doug Shafer:
You guys, have you guys ever played together? How's that work? (laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
Eeeh, (laughs) he likes to play and, uh, we're, you know, it's, it's fun to, uh, to be out there with the fours and with my husband, he has a hockey slapshot golf swing because he almost played professional hockey. He was an athlete as well.

Doug Shafer:
(laughs) oh, cool.

Cristie Kerr:
And, and that's one of the reasons why he got in the, uh, the sports marketing business. And, um, but my husband's got a whole nother background. He used to train like really famous people and then he helped build Chelsea Piers in New York and Floyd Bennett field out in Brooklyn.

Doug Shafer:
Wow.

Cristie Kerr:
And so he's got a very business background.

Doug Shafer:
Got it. And you've got two-

Cristie Kerr:
So we make a good team.

Doug Shafer:
You do, and you've got two, two little boys, two and six, is that what their ages are?

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah. Yup. Mason is six and Griffin is a year and a half.

Doug Shafer:
And uh, I don't know what sports they're going to be playing, but they're going to be really good. I just know it. I can tell. (laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
Maybe, I don't know. I think Mason will be the brainiac, uh, academic one and Griffin's already throwing a ball. So who knows. But I'll expose them to things.

Doug Shafer:
Sure.

Cristie Kerr:
I don't want to push too much just because I know how hard this lifestyle is and I want them to do what they truly want to do. I, and you know what's, what's crazy is every time we're drinking wine, Griffin wants to stick his hand in there and we're like, no, no, no. And he's like moving wine boxes around and he's one and a half. So maybe he'll run a company someday. (laughs).

Doug Shafer:
That's wild. Um, and you mentioned earlier about the, the somm test you pass level one, the quartermaster somms.

Cristie Kerr:
Yes, I passed it about a little over two years ago-

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
... and um, you know, I've been meaning to do the certified specialist of wine, but uh, with, you know, whatever, three different businesses and kids that everything gets really busy. But um, w- WSET right now is kind of in my sites.

Doug Shafer:
Right, cool.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, I kind of want to just, kind of do it all. I don't know, maybe I'm insane. (laughs).

Doug Shafer:
(laughs) Well, no, that's, that's a big one to take on, but you know-

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah.

Doug Shafer:
... with what you're doing, it seems like it's no, no big deal. You're just, just got to-

Cristie Kerr:
No, no, its, I mean. Everything's real busy. You just got to find a time to be able to do it all. And I feel like I never went to college and maybe this is the wine education stuff is kind of my college.

Doug Shafer:
Right, right.

Cristie Kerr:
Cause I always really liked learning.

Doug Shafer:
Well yeah, you just keep learning forever. Yeah. I, I actually would like to go back to college and do it again. I want to take art history, I want to take history, I want to, you know, music appreciation, everything. And stuff I never got to take.

Cristie Kerr:
I mean I think that's, yeah. I think if you really, if you really like learning, I feel like you people would be really apt for the wine business because you, you, there's a lot of like big things to learn, but there's a lot of little really finessing, minutia things about wine making that now people can learn. I'm, I'm very fortunate. I'm very happy I'm not the wine maker. (laughs) I help with branding and blending and things that I know I can do well. But I mean, what you guys do is, is just amazing.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah. But see, I feel the same way about you. (laughs) Um, so tell me about that. Professional golf, the wine business, parallels differences, one's a break from the other or are they same? Are they similar?

Cristie Kerr:
Um, I think it's everything.

Doug Shafer:
Wow.

Cristie Kerr:
Honestly. There are a lot of parallels, um, with how you do things to become successful and do things the right way, tend to things the right way.

Doug Shafer:
Mm-hmm.

Cristie Kerr:
Get a good product or a good score. Um, you know, there's a lot of differences as well. I mean, um, golf's very much in my control and the wine business is very much not in my control. It's in the hands of the consumer. It's in the hands of the distributor ships. It's, it's, um in the hands of the people rating your wines. Um, you know, so there's a lot of differences, um, but a lot of parallels as well.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah, interesting. I was thinking about that. It's golf, it's all, it's all you. It's, it's, is it, I always thought that golf is not a team sport, but it probably is. You probably got good support with uh, trainers-

Cristie Kerr:
Yes, with, well-

Doug Shafer:
... and coaches and that type of thing.

Cristie Kerr:
... used to be trainers, (laughs).

Doug Shafer:
Okay. (laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
Used to be trainers with it gotten busy. Some things that fall by the wayside.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, but, um, um, yeah, trainer, you know, um, got to get back into that part. But, um, you know, uh, mental coach, um, golf coach, um, you know, whatever it may be, whether it's the LPGA or, you know, everybody's there to support you and help you do your best.

Doug Shafer:
That's cool. Um, I was reading up on you, I came across something in 2019 a scotch whiskey partnership. Tell me about that. Well, (laughs) it's amazing what I can find out.

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, learning to become a somm, you learn about a lot more than just making wine.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
You learn about scotch, you learn about Sake, you learn about beer, you learned about a lot of other things.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah, yeah, off course.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, and I got the opportunity when I was at the Scottish open to go visit, um, Loch Lomond distillery, um, which you know, is in Loch Lomond. It was a two hour drive each way and you know, the tournament said, Hey, you want to go and help, you know, cause they're a partner in the tournament to some PR and, and you know, you'll get a tour of the distillery and get to taste some scotch and yada yada yada.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
And one in Scotland, when in Rome, you go do it. And uh, it was just really interesting to see all of the, the little finite stuff that they do to make their scotch. And it's a lot higher alcohol. So there's, you have to have that certain palate, like their master blender has to be almost immune to the alcohol to be able to, to blend down-

Doug Shafer:
Right, right.

Cristie Kerr:
... you know, for the 10, 12, 15 different kinds of Scotch that they make. And um, we got very friendly with Colin who is the owner of, of, of Loch Lomand and he was just happened to be there by happenstance that day. And we got to meet him. And I just started asking him questions about the solar system they use for aging and you know-

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
... the different, um, pot stills and different, you know, the different kind of stills they have and you know, the different strain of yeast they use for fermentation. And, um, it just got really interesting. And then we went and tasted the different scotch and, um, they make an amazing product and we struck up a friendship. And you know, about a year later, they're like, we're doing a scotch with two PGA tour players, a senior tour player, um, you know-

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
... um, and a PGA tour player. So Darren Clark and Colin, Colin Montgomery, and we would love to do one with, with you as well. And we came up with this idea that we were going to do a 16 year single malt scotch and we were going to ship our Pinot Noir barrels.

Doug Shafer:
(laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
... (laughs) over there to age, you know, for the last 10 months of its life cycle, life cycle. And it, it got re-

Doug Shafer:
That's fun.

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah, it got released in Asia, 2000 bottles and now 2000 bottles in US which the Stoli group, um, controls. And, uh, you know, we help sell and um, it got 94 points by one, uh Whiskey Advocate. So-

Doug Shafer:
Look at you, look at you. Well why? Look at you. (laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah, yeah, just, I didn't make it, I just gave them the barrels but I, I did help to taste and stuff and it's, that's a whole nother ball of wax. But it was very interesting and a really cool experience. And now we're trying to figure out how to sell it in, in the US.

Doug Shafer:
You know-

Cristie Kerr:
Because we're, we're partners with that brand. It's not our brand. So we're partners with, with Loch Lomond.

Doug Shafer:
That's cool. I uh, in listening to your story, I had a flashback because again, I think I was doing, I was doing a winemaker dinner up in Scotland, I don't know when, it must have been 20 years ago. And it was a good group, 30, 20, 30 people.

Doug Shafer:
I got along, we had a, it was one of those nights where it just clicks and everybody's having a good time. And so when it was all done and instead of taken off, I ended up hanging out with these three or four couples and they were saying, you know, Hey, you know, you know much about scotch. I said, you know, I don't know a thing. I've never been a scotch guy. And they said, and they have these three, three or four guys, look, they each, I said, well, let's take care of this man. But I mean in a good way.

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah.

Doug Shafer:
But they, they got four or five different types of scotch with a pitcher of water and they, you know, they gave me a whole education and it was-

Cristie Kerr:
That'll get ugly real fast. (laughs).

Doug Shafer:
Well, no, no, we were good. We were good. But uh, yeah, it could, (laughs) it could have gotten ugly, but it was fascinating. It was just this great night, you know, in a cold wintery night in Scotland and drinking scotch.

Cristie Kerr:
I mean, it's just so different. I mean, there are, are so many different types of scotch and I've done obviously bourbon in the States and depending on where it's made-

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
... the style in which you make it, I mean, obviously Highland and lowland style and Scotland are very different, but whether it's, you know, a Madeira cask or a Sherry cask or you know, a triple wood cask or you know, a Pinot Noir barrel-

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
... like wine barrels are becoming more and more heavily sought after because of the qualities that they can instill in the scotch. So, um, it's, it's all really interesting.

Doug Shafer:
Well, it's, it's, that's what's fun about and that, and adding wine and the whole thing. Tell me about your tastes. You start, you've been enjoying wine for years and years and years have, has your palate changed? Did, did you start with certain varietals and moved to new ones or is it still pretty much a California palate, Napa palate?

Cristie Kerr:
Um, my palette's all over the place right now. I mean, I, I still love the amazing, you know, Napa Valley big Cabernet, elegant, like layered, textured Cabernets. I love the Red blends from California. Um, obviously the Chardonnays, um, you know, I mean, all different wines. I mean, I'm, you know, since studying to become a somm, like I've really dove into France and Spain and Australia-

Doug Shafer:
Nice.

Cristie Kerr:
... and Austria and Switzerland. You know, when I was in Switzerland, I, you know, I went and did tastings and ... um, you know, I've been able to taste in the Willamette Valley, um, in the Barossa, in Adelaide Hills, in, um, you know, I went to Burgundy. Uh, you know, I've been all over the place now and, and I, you know, there's definitely things I prefer to drink, but I am sort of a Libra. Like, I never really settle and make a decision on anything. Like, I, I like to try a lot of different things and, and obviously studying to become a somm, one of the big things is food and wine pairing. So I'm always trying to find the, you know, the right pairings for things.

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
And, um, there's so many wines, so little time, like, I'm gonna make a tee shirt someday that says that. (laughs).

Doug Shafer:
(laughs) Um, question for you. I was thinking about you. Well, I, I think I know the answer. I was going to say, what do you do for fun other than golf? Or actually maybe golf's not fun, uh, along with that, do you ever like take a golf vacation? I'm thinking probably, I don't know.

Cristie Kerr:
We have, you know-

Doug Shafer:
Yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
... well, not, not in a while, but not in a while-

Doug Shafer:
Yeah you got a couple of little kids.

Cristie Kerr:
... but um, for my husband's 40th. Yeah. Yeah. We haven't, since they've been born, we haven't taken more-

Doug Shafer:
Right.

Cristie Kerr:
... than a two day. You know, one of my, even one of my sponsors is MGM and -

Doug Shafer:
That'll change, that'll change, I promise you that'll change, you'll uh, -

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah, two and a half hour drive from, from, uh, from Scottsdale. We've only taken basically like two or three days here or there over the years. But, um, yeah, I mean, no, I mean, I, I do a lot of things for fun. Uh, obviously learning about wine for me is, is kind of an obsession-

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
... now as, as people can imagine when you start learning about it. And one of my friends, Danny Holmquist on the tour. Um, you guys were, were, you know, then you guys sent her some wine and now she's, you know, studying for her level three WSET and, um, you know, I've, you know, I started tasting group on tour that-

Doug Shafer:
Oh, fun.

Cristie Kerr:
... we go to dinner periodically and do different things and, um, it's, it's pretty cool. Um, obviously wine, um, you know, I like being outdoors, you know-

Doug Shafer:
Yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
... like hiking and biking stuff in Scottsdale. Um doing stuff with my kids. Um, I'm kind of obsessed with cleaning right now. I don't know if that's everybody that's in quarantine.

Doug Shafer:
(laughs) yeah, you mentioned that before. I love it.

Cristie Kerr:
I literally have-

Doug Shafer:
You're obsessed with it, you, you keep talking about it, I like it.

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah, I literally, I mean, I see, I'm looking, I'm sitting in a room right now that's like the room where the crib is, so it's quiet and there's like a smudge in the window and I'm staring at it. (laughs) I have to clean this.

Doug Shafer:
All right. We gotta get you out of the house, um.

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah, no kidding. No kidding.

Doug Shafer:
(laughs) Oh, we're all, you know, and you know, we all have up days and down days it's, uh, it's really funny. I, my daughter called me yesterday and she's, she lives here in Napa. She's got a couple little kids about the same age as yours and uh, but you know, she was just having an off day and so was I. And so we just kind of lamented and then she called this morning, she goes, I'm having a better day. I said, me too. So it's, you know, day to day for everybody out here.

Cristie Kerr:
Yeah. And you, you talk about the similarities between wine making and golf, like getting outside, getting your hands on the club, like doing something-

Doug Shafer:
Yeah.

Cristie Kerr:
... is very soul satisfying. And so whether it's you guys going, you know, for first bud break or you're pruning or whatever you're doing, like just doing something, feeling accomplished, feeling like you accomplished something in your respective field. Like that's very satisfying right now. And everybody, whether it's completing a quiz on the internet or reading a book or doing something right now, like people just have to find things to do.

Doug Shafer:
Yeah. You just have to. So, so we're doing it. So what's going on with Kerr Cellars in the future? Any, any new, well, you've got nine different SKUs, but anything else coming up in the works?

Cristie Kerr:
Well, we're doing a really cool wine for the Fairmont, Grand Del Mar in San Diego.

Doug Shafer:
Cool.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, a Lagrand, a Sauvignon Blanc and Cab for them. Um, we're hoping, we're hoping, hoping to be able to open a tasting room in the next 12 months.

Doug Shafer:
Oh neat.

Cristie Kerr:
Um, yeah, in Napa. So whether it's Napa or, or, or Yountville, St. Helena, we're looking at all of that because, you know, obviously, you know, rents are high and you know, spaces are big and we're a little brand, so we're trying to find the right, you know, the right home.

Doug Shafer:
I was gonna ask you about that cause your, your style, your wines are, uh, custom crushed. Where you guys, where do you guys make your wines at?

Cristie Kerr:
We make our wine at a Cuvaison.

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
We're a custom crush, crushed within, within that house. And, um, um, obviously we, we work out of Copper Peak and, and-

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
... different, uh, different, uh, uh, places that help with our wine shipping and club and stuff. Uh, but we have a wine club kerrcellars.com.

Doug Shafer:
Okay.

Cristie Kerr:
And uh, you know, our membership is growing and, uh, you know, we're going to be launching a new website at the end of the year. So all very exciting things.

Doug Shafer:
Good. So if, if people want to buy your wines, website's the best place. Is it?

Cristie Kerr:
Yup. kerrcellars.com

Doug Shafer:
Kerrsellers.com. Cool. So everybody, everybody get out there and check out that wine cause you're home and you can do it. (laughs).

Cristie Kerr:
Yes, that's right. And we're, we're running great specials right now and um, you know, we're very much a direct to consumer brand and um, you know, we wanna, we wanna do things with excellence and we always want to over-deliver on the quality of our wine for the price.

Doug Shafer:
Super. Super. Christie, thank you so much for taking the time today. Really appreciate it.

Cristie Kerr:
Really enjoyed being on in the conversation. Thank you so much.

Doug Shafer:
And uh, next time you're in the Valley would just give me a buzz, shoot me an email so we'll get together, have a glass of wine, a cup of coffee, something. I know you're busy out here, but I'd love to, love to say, hey for a second.

Cristie Kerr:
There's always time for wine.

Doug Shafer:
There you go. All right. Good luck to you. Be good.

Cristie Kerr:
Thanks. You too.

Doug Shafer:
See ya. Bye bye.

Cristie Kerr:
See ya.