Thomas Savre

The Climb

Thomas Savre trained at University of Burgundy before moving through a formative series of Burgundian posts at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in Burgundy, Domaine Dujac in Burgundy, and Domaine Chevrot in Burgundy. Those placements sit inside a region where precision is a daily requirement and site is treated as a primary fact, not a marketing line. After that stretch in Burgundy, he later worked at Evening Land in Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley until 2015, carrying that approach into Oregon and into a different but equally exacting cool-climate context. Since 2015, Thomas has been director of winemaking and viticulture of Lingua Franca Winery, where the work has continued with measured control. The title is useful because it describes the actual scope: coordinating vineyard and cellar decisions so the finished wine reads clearly. His route runs from Burgundian training to Oregon execution, with the same concern threaded through both — keeping the vineyard audible in the glass.

Today

At Lingua Franca Winery, Savre is director of winemaking and viticulture. The role joins vineyard work and cellar work, which means the decisions do not stop at harvest or begin at fermentation; they run through the full chain from site to bottle. It requires reading the season, then shaping the wine without flattening what the site already gave. His aim there is direct: wines that speak of their terroir and place. In the Willamette Valley, that means polish is secondary to legibility. The finished wine should still carry the grain of origin, not just a house style. Savre frames the work with a practical kind of pleasure: "I'm gonna do something fun and some things that I love. Why would I just do something that I’m not sure about?" The line fits the craft. Exacting work does not have to be joyless, and the motive here is plain enough to trust.

Signature

Thomas's signature wines include Poulet Gaston Gerard.

In Their Words “I'm gonna do something fun and some things that I love. Why would I just do something that I’m not sure about?” “My favorite dish to pair with the 2017 Bunker Hill Chardonnay is Poulet Gaston Gerard.”

Recognition

Of the 2017 Bunker Hill Chardonnay from Lingua Franca in Salem, he says, "My favorite dish to pair with the 2017 Bunker Hill Chardonnay is Poulet Gaston Gerard." The dish he names is classic Burgundian chicken with white wine, Dijon mustard, crème fraîche, and grated comté. It sits comfortably beside the wine world that shaped him: rich but controlled, grounded but lifted by acidity. The pairing links Burgundy and Oregon without overexplaining the connection. The wine comes from Lingua Franca; the dish comes from Burgundy’s cooking language. Put together, they show how Savre thinks about acidity, texture, place, and pleasure on the same plate.