Lingua Franca

The story of winery Lingua Franca begins in the year 2012, when master sommelier Larry Stone purchases the Janzen farm in the Eola-Amity Hills of Willamette Valley, Oregon. The potential for this wine land was already known to many winemakers.
Larry Stone's career included a position as sommelier of the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago and as sommelier at Charlie Trotter's restaurant. During this time, Stone was the first American to receive the prestigious Grand Prix de Sopexa and was named the world's best sommelier in French wine. From Chicago, Stone moved to San Francisco in the 1990s to open the Rubicon Restaurant with New York restaurateur Drew Nieporent in partnership with Robert De Niro, Robin Williams and Francis Ford Coppola. Rubicon and Larry Stone have been awarded Michelin stars and honorable mentions several times in recent years.

In 2015, Larry Stone once again partnered with a familiar name, this time one from the French wine world, Dominique Lafon, the winemaker at Comte Lafon. They, along with David Honig, establish the Lingua Franca winery, based on the farm in Oregon purchased three years earlier. The wines are made by young winemaker Thomas Savre, a graduate of the Jules Guyot Institute, University of Burgundy, with a master's degree in Vinification processes and Oenology and winemaking. With experience gained during his studies at such renowned names as Domaine Dujac and Domaine de la Romanee Conti, and the advice of Dominique Lafon, Thomas Savre has everything he needs to produce Oregon's finest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

At Lingua Franca, the wines are made according to sustainable, organic and biodynamic principles. Winemaker Mimi Casteel, raised in her family's Bethel Heights vineyards, provides guidance and advice on organic viticulture.

Its vineyards are planted in the various appellations in Willamette Valley and its own vineyards in Eola-Amity Hills. Lingua Franca has Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. The wines are grown and made with as little intervention as possible. Every year Dominique Lafon is flown in to advise in the winemaking process. At Lingua Franca, they use French oak and fermentation is largely done with whole bunches. The wines are pure, rich, earthy and elegant with a very clear French fingerprint.