This Is Us

Anna Sweet’s story is proof that coloring outside the lines can lead you exactly where you’re meant to be.

A School of Visual Arts dropout turned internationally collected artist, her work lives in private collections, major hospitality spaces, and galleries around the world. But curiosity pulled her toward a different kind of canvas, one you could sip.

In 2018, Anna began studying wine through the WSET program. A year later, she worked her first harvest with Ken Wright in Oregon. Something clicked. The Willamette Valley felt like a blank canvas.

By 2020, she and her husband had traded palm trees for vineyard rows in the Dundee Hills, planting both vines and a vision to reimagine how fine wine is experienced.

To understand wine from the ground up, Anna hand-farmed a vineyard on Chehalem Mountain in 2021. That same year marked Artist Block’s debut vintage, working alongside French winemaker Guillaume Large of Résonance and Master of Wine Bree Stock.

In 2025, she begins a new chapter with an extraordinary female winemaker Tracy Kendall united by one shared belief:

World-class wine doesn’t need pretension.

It should feel like joy.

Curiosity.

Discovery.

Sometimes, like a pop art painting... familiar, yet unexpected.

Tracy’s path into wine may have started humbly, post-college, drinking Yellow Tail and feeling sophisticated, but her trajectory since has been anything but ordinary.

A Seattle native who left a master’s program in global health after one transformative Oregon harvest, Tracy chose the cellar over academia and never looked back. What began as curiosity became a calling.

With more than 20 harvests across hemispheres and over 15 years of full-time winemaking in the Willamette Valley, Tracy has built a reputation for precision, discipline, and uncompromising standards. For over a decade, she led winemaking for one of Oregon’s most acclaimed luxury estates, earning national recognition, critical praise, and some of the region’s highest scores.

Her wines are known for structure, restraint, and longevity, bottles that speak clearly of place while aging with intention.

In 2023, Tracy and her husband, Aaron Kendall, her co-winemaker on their personal label, purchased a 16-acre vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills and launched Folly of Man, a project already earning significant critical attention and high scores in its early vintages.

At Artist Block, Tracy brings that same rigor and creative command to every release. She approaches each vintage as both craft and composition, balancing science, instinct, and deep respect for the land.

Simply put: she is one of the most accomplished winemakers in Oregon, and we are extraordinarily proud to have her leading our cellar.

Chris has been farming world-class vineyards since 2013, but his path into wine started on the restaurant floor.

As a sommelier and beverage consultant in Baltimore, he developed a deep appreciation for what ends up in the glass. That curiosity led him into production, where he worked harvests abroad as a cellar hand in South Africa’s Western Cape and Waipara, New Zealand, gaining firsthand experience in both winemaking and viticulture.

Back in the U.S., Chris moved to Napa Valley and stepped into the Viticulturist role at Opus One, becoming a key contributor to one of the world’s most respected wine programs.

In 2018, drawn by the energy and potential of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, he moved north and joined the Atlas Vineyard Management team where he now oversees farming with precision, discipline, and deep respect for the land.

At Artist Block, Chris ensures our vineyards are farmed intentionally, sustainably, and with the kind of care that allows every bottle to begin with integrity.

Jessy and Anna have been building things together since high school, so it only made sense they’d end up building a wine brand.

They completed their WSET Level 2 side by side before working their first Oregon harvest in 2019, where they both fell hard for the Willamette Valley. What started as curiosity quickly turned into conviction.

After years in Crested Butte, Colorado, Jessy made the move west to join Anna at the helm of Artist Block, bringing her sharp operational brain, deep wine knowledge, and people-first energy with her.

Jessy is the force behind much of the magic you experience, from the edgy marketing to unforgettable tasting room moments. She believes wine should feel welcoming, exciting, and just a little unexpected.

Her go-to pour? Woo Juice.

Britt’s love for wine began on a road trip through Italy with her dad where long meals, open bottles, and unforgettable views made something click.

She returned home determined to understand wine deeply, enrolling in the Wine Studies program at Central Washington University and graduating at the top of her class. After working harvest at Résonance and spending a year at Ponzi Vineyards, she joined Artist Block with both technical knowledge and real-world experience.

Today, Britt leads our Wine Club and Distribution building the relationships that carry Artist Block beyond our tasting room walls. She brings precision, warmth, and a deep understanding of what makes people fall in love with a brand. From nurturing club members to expanding our reach in the market, she ensures every bottle feels personal.

Her joyful spirit sets the tone for our team, and her attention to detail keeps everything moving forward.

When she’s not at Artist Block, you’ll find her outside with friends or planning her next international adventure.

Her go-to pour? Rainbow Juice.

Charlotte’s path into wine began in the tasting room of a small vineyard in her home state of Virginia where she discovered the power of a great story poured into a glass.

Curiosity pushed her beyond the bar and into the cellar. Determined to understand wine from the inside out, she worked her first vintage in Napa Valley before going on to complete harvests in Washington and New Zealand.

After years on the road, Charlotte found her home in the Willamette Valley drawn by its world-class wine, mountain air, and endless access to the outdoors.

At Artist Block, she leads the tasting room with both depth and ease blending production knowledge with genuine hospitality. Charlotte has a gift for making guests feel instantly welcome while guiding them through wine with clarity and confidence.

When she’s not pouring, you’ll likely find her skiing, exploring the outdoors, or at her workbench as a silversmith creating handmade jewelry.

Her favorite pour? Bubble Butts.