In 2012, Larry Stone, the ninth American to become a Master Sommelier, purchased his dream vineyard site in the Eola-Amity Hills of the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Together with David Honig and Dominque Lafon, they founded Lingua Franca in 2015 with the spirit that wine is a universal language that brings people of different worlds to a common ground of shared conversation and shared enjoyment. In the 66-acre LS Vineyard, all farming is sustainable and guided by biodynamic principles as well as by respect for the environment, encouraging a healthy diversity of life. The soils are a mix of Jory, Jory-Geldermann and Nekia and the vineyard a combination of 18 different clones and rootstock. Winemaking is traditional and guided by minimal intervention in the cellar.

The Lingua Franca Estate Chardonnay is made from a selection of the estate's best barrels. All Chardonnay grapes are fermented in barrel with native yeasts, aged in a combination of 21% new 600-liter French oak barrels and 79% neutral French puncheons and barriques for 11 months. All wines are kept on the lees without any movement, then the wines are transferred to stainless steel tanks with their lees for five months prior to bottling. The result is a wine of impeccable balance, showing fabulous energy and tension alongside rich aromas and creamy textures that bode well for a long life in the cellar, thoug it is equally delicious to drink now. Enjoy with rich mushroom dishes or a decadent mac n' cheese.