Larry Stone
Founder
Within a few months of becoming the ninth Master Sommelier in the United States, Larry Stone became the first American to win the prestigious Best International Sommelier in French Wines competition in Paris. His career spans 30 years as a restaurateur and sommelier at the Four Seasons, Charlie Trotter’s, and Rubicon Restaurant among others, and culminates at Lingua Franca where his dream of cultivating an exceptional Oregon vineyard and making honest wines is realized.
Dominique Lafon
Consulting Winemaker
Best known as the namesake, director, and winemaker of one of the great estates of Meursault, Dominique is a descendant of Jules Lafon, who created the revered wine festival, La Paulée. After taking over the family domaine in the 80s, Dominique revitalized its red and white winemaking approach.
Thomas Savre
Director of Winemaking
Thomas is among the most accomplished and energetic young winemakers in Oregon. He joined Lingua Franca from his prior position as Assistant Winemaker, Enologist and Assistant Vineyard Manager at Evening Land, where he worked closely with Dominique Lafon to create superb Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Seven Springs Vineyards, directly adjacent to Lingua Franca.
Kim Abrahams
Production Winemaker
Born and raised in Louisiana, Kimberly made the decision to pack up and move West after a stint working in the wine distribution world. Landing at Robert Sinskey vineyards in Napa Valley, Pinot Noir and an appreciation for the land soon became her focus. Working an extensive harvest in Tasmania brought her further into the vineyard. She then spent four years in the cellar of Domaine Serene exploring the craft of winemaking. Kim joined Lingua Franca as Assistant Winemaker in early 2017 to contribute her skills to our winemaking team.
Brandon Hasart
Vineyard Manager
Originally from Bend, Oregon, Brandon graduated from the Washington State University with a degree in Enology and Viticulture. From there he went on to work a harvest in New Zealand and then lived in Casablanca, Chile for a year, where he helped make wine for a small producer specializing in Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. After a stint as the Assistant Winemaker at Abacela in Southern Oregon, he relocated to the Willamette Valley to shift his focus to vineyard management. Day to day, Brandon works with Winemaker, Thomas Savre, overseeing the LF Estate and Bunker Hill Estate Vineyards and collaborates with the winemaking team’s operations, including blending trials. Like many of us here at Lingua Franca, Brandon is in the Valley to pursue the most elusive of all wine grapes, with charm, character and transparency, Pinot Noir.
Joe Ferris
Assistant Winemaker
Born and raised in Wisconsin, Joe spent several years working as a biomedical engineer in Los Angeles; however, his travels to wine country on the west coast and abroad motivated him to rethink his path in life. After working a harvest in Paso Robles, Joe immediately fell in love with winemaking and made the decision to switch careers. He went back to school to earn a viticulture and enology master’s degree at UC Davis and since graduation, has worked harvests on the Sonoma Coast as well as abroad in Germany and New Zealand. Upon returning stateside, Joe has put down roots in the Willamette Valley and joined our winemaking team for the 2018 harvest. Joe is excited to continue with Lingua Franca in his new role as Cellar Master.
Taylor Bruchet
Senior Cellar Operator
Taylor grew up in western Washington and has always had a passion for the outdoors and science. He was able to combine both of his passions by studying Viticulture & Enology at Washington State University, focusing on soil science and organic farming methods. During his last semester of college, Taylor worked at Four Feathers Winery in Prosser, WA. After graduation, Taylor had the opportunity to work in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand with Villa Maria. It was there that he found his love of mineral driven Chardonnay. After New Zealand, Taylor worked in Sonoma, CA at Roche Winery gaining experience with Pinot noir and Chardonnay, from vine to bottle. Wanting to be a little closer to friends and family in WA, Taylor moved to the urban wine scene in Woodinville with DeLille Wines. He has now officially found home in the Willamette Valley, and after a vintage with Adelsheim Vineyards, he has joined the cellar team at Lingua Franca.
Jaime Bedard
Cellar Operator
Jaime spent the first several years of her career between Boston and Washington, D.C. as a corporate attorney, but found herself seeking any excuse to create and occupy convivial spaces centered on wine, food & community. Following the origins of those savored bottles to Europe and South America on her travels, Jaime decided to press pause on the billable hour to work the 2021 harvest at Apolloni Vineyards in Oregon. An opportunity for some vineyard and cellar work in Monferrato, Piedmont followed shortly thereafter, where Jaime was able to work with dry-farmed, organic Chardonnay, Grignolino and Barbera before accepting an internship with Lingua Franca for the 2022 vintage. The condensed harvest allowed Jaime to deepen her cellar and winemaking skills in a fast-paced environment, while furthering her appreciation for the balanced and holistic approach to winemaking Lingua Franca employs —letting the land and the senses drive the process. Jaime is grateful and excited to continue working with The Lingua Franca Team here in the Willamette.
Joshua Wludyka
Director of Trade Sales
Josh first worked for Larry Stone on the wine team at Charlie Trotter’s. When chef Trotter retired, Josh relocated to the Cayman Islands, where he continued his pursuit of excellence in food and wine- opening a cocktail bar and winning his way into Diageo’s Top 100 Bartenders in the world and later twice capturing the crown as Food & Wine’s Cayman Cookout Champion, as judged by the late Anthony Bourdain, Eric Ripert, Jose Andres, Daniel Boulud, Emeril Lagasse, and others. Before relocating, he helped to open Kimpton’s first international property, the luxury Seafire Resort. Josh was Lingua Franca’s first intern, having assisted Thomas and the winemaking team since the 2015 vintage before moving into his current role in 2017. Josh left the Caribbean for Oregon in late 2017 to work with Larry in overseeing all national and international distribution.
To contact Josh directly, please email josh@linguafranca.wine
Jamie Apuna
Assistant DTC & Hospitality Manager
Jamie’s East Coast roots split her time between NYC, Boston, NJ, PA, & Maine. She studied International Socio/Economical Development & Art History in Salzburg. It was in Austria that she took her first cuisine & wine course. Upon graduation, accompanied by her three best friends from high school, she moved to San Francisco. While on a redwoods hike, the group picnicked by a waterfall and one person took out Karen MacNeil’s Wine Bible. After reading it cover to cover in three days, she was inspired to explore California wine country and began working for some of the best restaurants in the world. She received a world class education under intense supervision in exacting environments at the James Beard Award Winning-Pellegrino Top 50-Michelin 3 starred Coi, Lazy Bear, In Situ, Bar Tartine and Berlu. Her wine education continued through programs such as WSET Diploma Candidate, CMS Sommelier, FWS, CSW, CWAS, & NWAS. It was in the Northwest Wine Appellation Specialist course that she blind tasted wines from Oregon, Washington, Canada and Idaho. One wine stood out among all the others in the tasting. It was so compelling that she knew she wanted to join that team. It was the 2017 Lingua Franca Estate Chardonnay.
William Moriarty
Associate Wine Club Manager
William Moriarty, a native Bostonian, has worked in restaurants and hospitality since he was 15. He received a Bachelor’s degree in French Language & Literature from Hofstra University on Long Island spending part of that time at the Université de Paris VII, followed by a 1 year stint teaching English in a high school in the Champagne region of France. For William, the confluence of his passions for French and Hospitality naturally evolved into a passion for wine.
After returning to Boston, William worked at No. 9 Park and Menton, two of Barbara Lynch’s fine dining establishments, before being taken under the wing of James Beard Award Winning Wine Director Cat Silirie. After serving for two years as Silirie’s Assistant Director, William joined the opening team for Rochambeau, where he created a well lauded wine list and was charged with ongoing maintenance of that list as well as educating the staff on wine, beer and spirits. In 2021 William moved to Willamette to pursue his passion for wine more closely, spending a year as the Senior Wine Ambassador for Domaine Serene at their Lake Oswego lounge.
William is very excited to join the team at Lingua Franca and grow a new set of skills in the wine trade.
Megan Roberts
Laboratory Technician
Beginning her wine education and career in Washington, Megan has hopped continents and hemispheres to expand her wine knowledge and experience. After making it as far north as the San Juan islands and as far south as New Zealand and Tasmania, in 2016 she decided to put down roots in the Willamette Valley and commit to her infatuation with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Growing among a community of mentors and friends led Megan to invaluable production experiences as well as dipping her toe back in the wine sales and hospitality side for a stint. Summer of 2022 finally led her to Lingua Franca where she is thrilled to be a part of such a talented production team.
Nestor Zermeño Esparza
Tractor Technician
Originally from a small pueblo in Jalisco, Mexico called San Diego de Alejandría, Nestor moved to Oregon in 2016 to unite with his wife Jackie. Nestor has worked in production and manufacturing over the last few years, but has always been interested in agriculture and has enjoyed learning more about the wine industry. He joined the Lingua Franca team as Tractor and Vineyard Hand in February of 2020, right before COVID made the year one for the books. In his spare time, Nestor likes to go fishing, BBQ and spend time with his family.
José Guerrero-Peña
Tractor Technician
José was born and raised in Jalisco, Mexico. In 2014, he moved to Oregon and began working for the vineyard management company Results Partners, where he gained experience working in a handful of vineyards throughout Yamhill County and strengthened his tractor driving skills. He became passionate about the health of the soil and vineyard ecosystems and learned about the challenges that environmental factors can bring to farming. Outside of the vineyard you can find José spending time with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys fishing, hunting and crabbing.
George Mc Manus
Sommelier
Growing up on a vineyard in the wine country of Baden, Germany, George has always been close to the wonderful world of Pinot Noir. After moving to the United States at the age of 17, he attended Western Washington University and received a Bachelor’s degree in French and German. During his senior year he re-discovered his passion for wine, as he picked up Wines and Spirits by André L. Simon. Infatuated with all things wine, he decided to take a chance and re-locate to the Willamette Valley two years ago after receiving his degree. George received his WSET 2 certification in the summer of last year. In the rare instance you do not find him at work, he is most likely studying, spending time with his partner, his friends or his family, running, reading or playing pool.