Tag: Churchill

A passion for the French province of Alsace and the desire to create delightfully different wines inspired Claiborne (Clay) Thompson and Fredericka Churchill to found their boutique winery in 1983 in San Luis Obispo, California. Fredericka and Clay met when they taught language and literature at the University of Michigan. In 1981 they left "the groves of academe" for the vineyards of California, settling in the heart of the Edna Valley along California’s Central Coast. Their inaugural vintage of 565 cases of Dry Gewürztraminer and Dry Riesling confirmed the couple’s conviction that the Edna Valley was indeed an ideal site to grow aromatic grapes.