Thomas Rivers Brown
Thomas Rivers Brown (or TRB to the Internet denizens) is one of the most well-know young winemakers today in the Napa Valley. Originally from Sumter, South Carolina, Thomas developed his first interest in wine – a Burgundy, of course – while studying at the University of Virginia.
Expanding his new found attraction, Thomas traveled to France several times per year, and after leaving college, found himself working in Calistoga, still pursuing his fascination with wine. Fortune smiled broadly, and Thomas found himself in just the right place to become the first assistant hired by Ehren Jordan at Turley in the late 1990s. From here, it was just a matter of time until his natural talent came to light.
In 2008, Thomas made history as the youngest winemaker to score not just one, but two perfect “100 point” scores from Robert M. Parker’s, The Wine Advocate, for the 2006 Schrader “Old Sparky” and 2006 Schrader CCS Cabernet Sauvignons. In the 30-year history of The Wine Advocate, this is the first time two Cabernets from the same producer in the same vintage have received two perfect scores.
Today, Thomas consults at Schrader, Outpost, Maybach, Chiarello, Diamond Terrace, GTS (Tom Seaver’s label), Casa Piena, Harris Estate, Jones Family, Wallis, Round Pond, and Black-Sears, all of this, in addition to managing his own label, Rivers-Marie (the name is an amalgamation of the middle names of he and his wife Genevieve).
Join us as we talk with Thomas about his start in winemaking, his philosophies on wine and wine people, and his outlook for the future of wine.
To find out more information:
Rivers Marie: www.riversmarie.com
Sponsor – Office of Champagne USA: www.champagne.us
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(1:15:25 min 54MB)
A great interview. This is “nuts and bolts” at it’s best. The questions ranged from the rationale of boottle price to relations with growers…the insight was stellar. For a wine geek this was one of your best shows. Thomas provided the behind the scenes insight without being preachy. He supplied the answers in a very matter of fact manner as if we were all talking over a couple of glasses of wine at the Kenwood Grill. Bravo!
Nice show. You mentioned several times the list of questions. Was this a list you guys made up or were some from listeners? Overall it was a great list.
Tim, we were referring to a list of questions submitted by board members at wineberserkers.com. We frequently “reach out” to internet boards for additional questions about areas of interest.
Eric
Great interview guys!
Must try the RM pinot now that I have a better understanding of the thoughts
behind the making of the wines
Thanks Mel. So we are still waiting for you to join us in an interview.
Jay
Had a hard time running down any TRB wines in Chicago, but I did find a bottle of Outpost Zin. Very Very good. He was paying attention when he worked at Turley. Looking forward to finding others to try.
Thanks Mel. So we are still waiting for you to join us in an interview.
Jay
Had a hard time running down any TRB wines in Chicago, but I did find a bottle of Outpost Zin. Very Very good. He was paying attention when he worked at Turley. Looking forward to finding others to try.