Julie & Toby Bainbridge
Chavagnes-Les-Eaux

As a young man in Stratford upon Avon, Toby Bainbridge dreamed of driving John Deer tractors. If this very British sounding town is ringing your bell, you might have dabbled in a bit of thespianism since this small town is also the apocryphal home of William Shakespeare. And despite the divergence in interests, there'a charm and wit to Toby's company that is clearly a matter of Terroir.  Anyway, Toby got to live out this boyhood dream, working for an American agricultural company, driving a combine along the wheat harvest from Texas to Ontario. 

Julie, meanwhile, was the daughter of a farmer with a wheat farm in Protection, Kansas -- home of the high-school football team, the Trojans (true!). As it turns out, you can't pick wheat in the rain, so the crew spent a lot of time at the local pub throwing darts when storms would roll in. This year it rained 2 weeks straight. Toby went home with the farmers daughter and the rest is history. The couple move to France where Toby did some studies at University. He started driving a tractor for Didier Chiffardon and caught the wine bug. Next, he worked for Agnes and Rene Mosse, and eventually became the winemaker, where he continued for 7 years, making some of the most exciting natural wines of the era. 

Little by little, Toby leased and purchased small parcels and in 2012 they started out on their own, making wines with facility and freshness -- to be drunk now with little fuss. All the wines are bottles with crown caps -- still and sparkling -- at first because it was all they could afford, but subsequently because of a very cool partnership they have with big champagne houses to recycle empty bottles used for élevage. The labels are as simple as can be, small and printed with plant ink. The domaine is a picture of simplicity and delight, and the Bainbridge family (now including 2 French sons) is a huge part of my own family. There are not kinder people, and I am so proud to represent them.