Clos Griotte Vineyard

Thibaud was born in Auvergne, in the center of France, a land of mostly extinct volcanoes, great cheeses and world famous rubber treads, Michelin tires. He earned a degree in organic chemistry, then moved on to study the more interesting field of wine chemistry in Champagne and Bordeaux. After learning how to make red, white and sparkling wine, he traveled to make more wines in Texas and Corsica before landing in Oregon at Willakenzie Estate in the spring of 2000. In 2017, he decided to start his new brand and plant his own vineyard “Clos Griotte” in the Eola Hills. “Clos” refers to a walled or closed vineyard often found in Burgundy. Clos is now used in the name of vineyards even when the wall no longer exists. “Griotte” comes from the French word meaning sour cherry or pie cherry. The Clos Griotte vineyard was a cherry tree farm before it becomes a grape vineyard. By giving its name Thibaud wanted to acknowledge and celebrate its past legacy and promising future. While waiting for his own vineyard to produce he decided to source pinot noir grapes from high quality and established vineyards, Hyland and Momtazi to produce white, rosé and red wines.