Larry Stone's Lingua Franca joins Star Wine List celebrations

We are happy to welcome Lingua Franca, the esteemed estate in the Eola-Amity Hills of the Willamette Valley, to our Star Wine List of the Year celebrations. In the upcoming events in both New York and Germany/Austria/Switzerland, Lingua Franca will present the category Sustainable Wine List.

(Partner story with Lingua Franca)

"Since many on our team at Lingua Franca have worked in the restaurant and hospitality space as waiters and sommeliers, even as owners of restaurants, like Josh Wludyka who is representing us at the New York awards ceremony, we have an especially close relationship with on-premise accounts and in particular with the wine buyers and sommeliers who strive for excellence," says Lingua Franca's founder, Larry Stone.

Larry Stone is one of the most well known sommeliers in the USA, having been named the ninth Master Sommelier in the USA in 1988 and later turning his sights to winemaking.

It was in 2010 that Stone began negotiations for the 150-acre Janzen Farm in the heart of Eola-Amity Hills. Larry then joined forces with Dominique Lafon, widely respected as one of the top winemakers in Burgundy, and winemaking protégé Thomas Savre to produce expressive wines harnessing the essence of Oregon.

Now Lingua Franca will take part in the celebrations of the best wine lists, and the teams behind them, in both New York on March 25 and in DACH on May 25.

"With the growing awareness of the impact our civilization has had on the world we are especially mindful of those who want to support farmers and vineyards with organic and regenerative agriculture practices. We have founded our company on such principles from the beginning, from the “ground up,” protecting the microbes and fungi in the soils which help to nourish the vines and shape the unique flavor profile of our terroir," says Larry Stone.

"We encourage the biodiversity of flora and fauna in and around the vineyard in order to encourage the cycle of life to maintain a balance in our environment, such as allowing thousands of birds to breed and live within our property in order to reduce the impact of insects, as well as encouraging hawks and owls to dwell in the same space in order to keep rodents and songbirds from feeding on our fruit. We have rabbits, gophers, squirrels and deer but also foxes, bobcats, coyotes and mountain lions."

What do you look forward to with this event?
"It is with great pleasure that we support the Star Wine List Awards Sustainable category. We applaud those who support organic, sustainable and regenerative farming practices. We applaud those who desire to raise awareness of great wineries from around the world and to promote the responsible cultivation of wine grapes and farm products. We are especially looking forward to meeting all the candidates who have worked so hard for years, regardless of who wins the title this year."

How important is the US market in general, and New York in particular, for Lingua Franca?
"New York has been our strongest market in terms of understanding our cultivation-based production of wine, which is very traditional in European context. It is a place where people have an appreciation for the classic wines of Europe, and a sensitivity to flavors that are grown rather than “made” in all agricultural products, whether it be wine, white truffles of Alba, black truffles of Perigord, Italian or Spanish EVO or aceto balsamico tradizionale from Modena. So many sommeliers in NY understand the idea of allowing a place to speak they have been among the first to recognize the quality of Lingua Franca wines."

Looking forward – what is happening with Lingua Franca this year?
"This year we are opening a new hospitality center next to the winery on June 1st, so that we can have a beautiful environment surrounded by farmland, pastureland for sheep, wild marshland with quail, songbirds, foxes and the Lingua Franca Estate vineyard. We are working on a flock of sheep to become a permanent part of our farming practices by next year and acquiring electric tractors to reduce carbon emissions."

"We always seek to improve our practices on the farm and in the winery to reinvigorate and regenerate our natural resources, from the use of natural organic compost or by reducing the weight of our bottles."