SEIJI ESTATE
Laurent Montalieu
Growing up on the Caribbean Island of Guadeloupe and in Bordeaux, France, winemaking wasn’t actually Laurent Montalieu’s first choice of profession. As a student in agricultural engineering at the Institute of Oenology in Bordeaux, Laurent became friends, through their shared interest in skiing, with a group of students who were studying viticulture and winemaking. He would help with vineyard chores to allow for more ski time with his buddies. It was in those vineyards that Laurent found his calling.
In 1987, a pivotal move to Oregon led Laurent to Bridgeview Vineyards and then, in 1995, to WillaKenzie Estate where he worked as partner and winemaker. In 1999 he purchased 80 acres in Oregon’s Yamhill-Carlton AVA, which would grow into the estate vineyard and winery, Soléna Estate. Finally, in 2003, he founded the first fully dedicated custom crush facility in the Willamette Valley, NW Wine Company. The sloping hills of Domaine Loubejac were planted in 2007 as part of NW Wine Company’s vineyard portfolio, and since then NW Wine Company has grown to be one of Oregon’s largest land-holding winery.
Over the years, Laurent has dialed in his unique style. A focus on growing the highest quality fruit to achieve balanced and terroir-driven wines with freshness, depth, and structure are marks of his real-world education.
Anne Sery
Anne was born and raised on Reunion Island, a tropical French island in the middle of the Indian Ocean, off the East Coast of Madagascar. When she was 14, her parents purchased a vineyard in Côte de Nuits. As a teenager, she spent her summer in Burgundy at the family vineyard, and it was there where her affinity for wine first blossomed. It was her summers in France, though, where her passion for wine and love for viticulture first blossomed.
She left Reunion after high school to attend college in Dijon, where she received her degree in Biology, Physics, and Mathematics. She then completed the Master’s program of Viticulture and Oenology at the ENITA of Bordeaux and received her National Diploma of Enology from the University of Bordeaux. During her years in school, Anne would return to Burgundy for internships with well esteemed Pinot Noir producers; Domaine Jean-Francois Coche-Dury, Domaine Hubert Lignier, Maison Bouchard Pere & Fils.
After graduating, she traveled to the United States to perfect her English and experience another Pinot Noir region of the world. While interning at Beaux Freres, she fell in love with the Willamette Valley and decided that she wanted to stay to start her career. Anne was hired as an assistant winemaker for Soléna Estate after meeting Owner and Proprietor Laurent Montalieu. After 2 years at Soléna, Anne joined Laurent and the team at NW Wine Company as a winemaker and, in 2022, was promoted to Director of Winemaking.
Today, NW Wine Company is Oregon’s largest landholder under vine, managing over 1200 acres, including the historic Hyland Vineyard in McMinnville. Operating with a vineyard-first-mentality, Anne oversees all of NW Wine Co’s production including wholesale brands, custom crush, and Oregon’s largest private label program. When Anne’s not tasting in the lab or walking a vineyard, she’s NW Wine’s resident baking champion and a mom to two young children, Emily & Lucas.
Renato De Luca
Wienmaker Renato De Luca was born and raised in Abruzzo, Italy in a multigenerational household of grape farmers and brick layers. He helped his grandfather farm grapes and make wine every year. Since he was also a bricklayer, everything around him was made of concrete. He was always attracted by the amorphous shiny, colorful particles of sand and gravel randomly embodied in a defined object. His grandfather told him that since amphora shuts out any oxygen contact the wine can sustain over 50 years without sulphur and always tastes fresh. He believes that amphora is better than wood barrels and aluminum tanks. It is ancient Roman wisdom!
Renato immigrated to the United States in 2011 and worked in fine dining restaurants in Miami, NYC, and Portland Oregon as a sommelier. During those years of his career he developed a fascination for wines made with the secular knowledge of Vinification and noticed how rare it was becoming to find wineries that still operate in that fashion.
Our amphora allows winemakers to operate with a minimalistic approach during the fermentation and preservation of aliveness during the aging process, producing stable wines that can communicate the true character of the vineyard in the specific vintage.
Our amphorae are made with a mix of cement, coarse aggregates, and basalt Our fiber.
The shapes help create a natural circular motion of the yeast during fermentation.
The 2-inch thick walls provide thermal mass and protection from vibrations, rapid temperature changes, and even possible hard impacts (that for other vessels made out of clay or wood would be destructive).