From the time my great grandparents arrived in Walla Walla in 1902, my family has achieved everything through meticulous hard work. In fact, the silhouette on the label of Toil Oregon is from a photo of my Great Uncle William Leonetti and my father planting the first Leonetti Vineyard in 1974.
Perhaps the biggest challenge of this endeavor is producing a wine that is the same level of quality that we have been producing at Leonetti Cellar for 40 years. It requires new learning, infinite patience, dedicated diligence, and a willingness to consistently toil in pursuit of perfection.
For many years, I have been enjoying Pinot Noir from around the world. I fell in love with how this varietal, especially from Willamette Valley, is a perfect complement to the dense, dark, masculine wines we produce here in the Walla Walla Valley. At its finest, Pinot Noir has such a lovely delicacy, perfume, and levity that it was just impossible for me not to try my hand at creating it.
Toil Oregon was created to acknowledge our past and my commitment to continue to lead my family in bringing you the finest of our efforts. I relentlessly strive to honor the trailblazers of the Willamette Valley and to add to their legacy in the same way newcomers to the Walla Walla Valley honor my father.
CHRIS FIGGINS
CEO & Winemaking Director
Figgins Family Wine Estates
CHRIS FIGGINS
CEO & Winemaking Director
Figgins Family Wine Estates
meet chris figgins
CEO & winemaking director
Chris Figgins is the CEO and Winemaking Director for Figgins Family Wine Estates (FFWE). Chris succeeds his parents, Gary and Nancy Figgins, who founded Leonetti Cellar in 1977 – the oldest winery in Walla Walla. After growing up in the wine business, he officially joined Leonetti in 1996 post-graduation from Washington State University with a Horticulture degree. Chris assumed the position of head winemaker in 2001.
In addition to operations and winemaking, Chris presides over all viticulture operations for FFWE, which includes seven distinct vineyard sites in the Walla Walla Valley AVA and one in the Chehalem Mountains AVA of the Willamette Valley. To further extend the FFWE experience, Chris has launched Toil Oregon, a small-production Willamette Valley brand featuring Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and FIGGINS, a single-vineyard estate wine brand focused on Bordeaux varieties. Chris was instrumental in transforming Leonetti into an estate grown winery and is known industry-wide for consistently pushing the envelope viticulturally. A frequent public speaker, Chris loves to share his passion for sustainable farming and biological soil health.
THE STORY BEHIND OUR LABEL
The first Leonetti Vineyard was planted in 1974 by my father, Gary Figgins, with the help of his uncles William and George Leonetti. The silhouette on the label of Toil Oregon is taken from that image of Uncle Bill with his shovel in the dirt. It is an important visual reminder of the toil, the hard work over the course of a lifetime, that it takes to grow and make great wines.
“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.” ~ Winston Churchill
