Interview
This interview is with Joe Ferris of Lingua Franca in Salem, Oregon. In this interview, Joe shares his background and how he found his way into the world of winemaking through travel, science, and hands-on experience.
Joe grew up in Wisconsin and attended UW Madison, where he studied biomedical engineering. His interest in wine first started casually, but after traveling through South America with his wife and visiting wineries along the way, he became fascinated by the culture and science behind winemaking. After moving to Los Angeles and working in the biotech field, Joe realized he wanted to pursue wine more seriously.
He later attended UC Davis for viticulture and enology, where he gained hands-on experience and learned more about the industry. During this time, he completed internships and harvest work in Oregon, Germany, and New Zealand, experiences that helped shape his understanding of winemaking and wine culture around the world. Joe especially valued the way wine brought people together and became integrated into everyday life in places like Europe.
After hearing about an opening at Lingua Franca, Joe joined the team as a harvest intern and steadily worked his way up through the cellar. After several years as an assistant, he became the estate winemaker and continues to focus on producing thoughtful wines that reflect Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Lingua Franca in Salem, Oregon on April 1, 2026.
Interview
This interview is with William Moriarty of Lingua Franca. In this interview, William discusses his upbringing on the East Coast and his journey to the West.
William shares about growing up in Boston and his travels during college. He delves into discovering a passion for wine through its connection to hospitality and the French language. He then goes on to talk about his time spent in France and the many impacts and memories he took away from his time there.
Later in the interview, William shares about his move to Oregon. He goes on to share about his hopes for the valley and himself.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Lingua Franca in Hopewell on July 23, 2025.
Interview
This interview is with Kim Abrahams of Lingua Franca. In this interview, Kim begins with describing her journey into the wine industry after graduation. She first speaks of moving to Tasmania where she worked in the vineyard and learned more about Viticulture and Enology. Kim then goes on to speak about what it was like coming to Oregon and working harvest and then working as a cellar hand at Domaine Serene. Later, Kim goes into depth about her role at Lingua Franca, and what it has been like seeing the brand take off from the beginning. Towards the end of the interview, Kim touches on what she sees within the future, and what she has had to change over the past few months due to COVID-19. To conclude, she speaks of the changes in the Oregon wine industry since she started and describes wine’s role in society.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Lingua Franca on August 20, 2020.
Interview
This interview is with Larry Stone of Lingua Franca. In this interview, Larry takes us through his journey to where he is today: moving from developing a passion for food and wine from a very young age, to his chemistry background, to his work in the humanities, to becoming the best sommelier in the world, and later becoming a Master sommelier. Larry’s knowledge of food and wine takes him to describing the various places that he worked at, the accomplishments that he has had in the wine world and restaurant business, to the process of coming to Oregon and starting Lingua Franca. Towards the end of the interview, Larry speaks about his decision in choosing what to plant and farm organically, building the brand of Lingua Franca with the goal of accurately reflecting place within each wine and creating world peace through wine to bring people together. To conclude, Larry touches on the future for Lingua Franca, offers advice for people looking to pursue their dreams, the future for the Oregon Wine Industry, and what he’s most proud of thus far.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Lingua Franca on August 8, 2019.
Interview
This interview is with Thomas Savre of Lingua Franca. In this interview, Thomas describes how he got into wine from a very young age, and how he is connected to Burgundy culturally, his education in learning wine, and his decision to go to America after deciding not to go to medical school. He then goes on to discuss his initial impressions of the Oregon wine industry, his goal as a winemaker, and how he ended up at Lingua Franca. Towards the end of the interview, Thomas speaks about his winemaking philosophy, goals for the future, and offers advice for someone looking to pursue their goals.
This interview was conducted by Rich Schmidt at Lingua Franca on August 9, 2019.