Past
Dr. Jack Bagdade
Jack Bagdade, a well known physician/scientist, began his journey in the wine business with the formation of Pike &Western Wine Merchants in Seattle in 1975. His vision soon became to produce world class sparkling wines and by the 90′s founded Domaine Meriwether. To succeed there was two main decisions to make. The first challenge was location. He needed to find the grapes necessary to produce classic Pinot Noir based sparklers. The second challenge was who was going to make the wine. Jack needed a winemaker who had the skills to transform the grapes into a wine worthy of competing on the world stage. He soon found his solutions: the Willamette Valley and winemaker Jean-Louis Denois.
Jean-Louis Denois
As a sixth generation grower and winemaker from Cumieres just north of Epernay in Champagne, Jean-Louis was a perfect fit for the Domaine Meriwether project. Open to a new challenge, the vision that Dr. Bagdade shared had struck a cord with him. Â After a few meetings in France and numerous trips to Oregon, Jean-Louis led Domaine Meriwether through its first harvest in 1998. The Meriwether style is classic in nature with a commitment to the traditional Methode Champenois practices envision by Dr. Jack Bagdade and executed by Jean-Louis.
