Académie brings together Anne-Sophie and Bertrand de Villaine, Dominique Lafon, Thomas Savre, and Joshua Wludyka in a project built from relationships spanning Burgundy, Oregon and the international fine-wine trade. As the winemaker, Thomas is its cornerstone. His training and early work at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Domaine Dujac, and Domaine Chevrot gave him a foundation in Burgundy, while more than a decade making wine in the Willamette Valley gives this project its direction. Along the way, he worked closely with Dominique and Larry Stone at Lingua Franca and began his collaboration with Bertrand on Ostia Tempore in 2016. Académie is where these relationships meet, shaped by the partners’ collective experience but grounded in Thomas’ expertise in making wine that reflects the best Willamette Valley has to offer.

Académie and Ostia Tempore represent two distinct expressions of Thomas’ work in the Willamette Valley. Académie is the newer project, focused on limited-production wines made with aging in mind. Ostia Tempore predates it and has been produced in previous vintages and only available in Europe and Asia outside the United States; this will be the first time the wines are released in the U.S. The distinction is one of purpose rather than seriousness. While Académie is made for development in the cellar, Ostia Tempore is intended to be generous, immediately expressive, and at home on the table from the moment of its release.

The names associated with Académie bring considerable pedigree, but its partners are not content to trade on reputation. The project reflects Thomas’ curiosity as a winemaker and his determination to keep questioning, learning and refining his work. Its measure will be the wines and their fidelity to the Willamette Valley. Across Académie’s limited, ageworthy bottlings and the more immediate wines of Ostia Tempore, the aim is not to recreate Burgundy in Oregon, but to carry forward the rigor of Thomas' training while responding to the vineyards in front of him. This combination of experience, long-standing partnership, and close attention to place makes Académie a natural addition to the Martine’s portfolio.