It takes a special place and a brave dream to make two nomads finally stop moving and, quite literally, put down roots.
Guy Insley & Ximena Orrego [Source: Atticus Wine]
Ximena Orrego and Guy Insley of Atticus Estate Vineyard & Winery were both born abroad and have lived in (and travelled to) multiple countries. Their aspiration to own a vineyard when they retired became a reality sooner than expected, and in a place quite unexpected.
While it’s becoming somewhat common to see a Burgundian House establish a wine project in Oregon, one of the State’s newest winery owners is surprising initially, until you dig a little deeper. Beck Family Estates chose the Willamette Valley to launch Abbott Claim, its first winery outside of South Africa. Their reputation for a commitment to sustainability coupled with their choice of Alban Debeaulieu as their winemaker is already proving to be a wine match made in heaven.
Over the past several years of interviewing close to 300 winemakers, we’ve come across a lot of stories of unlikely journeys where individuals or couples of have packed up their (often corporate) lives and moved to a different part of the country to pursue a life in wine. The common denominator in those stories has been a dream fueled by passion. But passion alone isn’t always enough to turn winemaking into a viable business. At Bells Up Winery, Dave & Sara Specter have found success by focusing on making quality wine, while at the same time connecting with quality people.
Domaine Nicolas-Jay is the Oregon collaboration between Jay Boberg, co-founder of I.R.S records and former President of MCA records, and Jean-Nicolas Méo, winemaker and owner of Méo Camuzet, one of the very best wineries in Burgundy. We had the wonderful privilege of interviewing them virtually to find out more about this relatively new project, the vineyards they source from, and of course, taste some of their wines. Thank you in advance for watching and please let us know what you think!
Lingua Franca refers to a universal language that everyone can understand
Great wine is made in the vineyard. Larry Stone knew he saw something special when he inspected the property in what is now home to his latest project in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. This unique site combined with Larry’s 40+ years of experience and consultation by renowned winemaker Dominique Lafon, has already proven to be a winning formula for Lingua Franca Wines in its very early beginnings.
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