In 2002, when it was time to hire a winemaker, the Seavers received recommendations for all of the top winemakers in the Valley at the time, and even met with a few. Then one night over dinner, Tom and Nancy had a bottle of wine that made an impression. Looking at the back label they read the name of a winemaker neither had heard of before; Thomas Brown.
Tom would say that he knew within the first few minutes of meeting Thomas that he wanted to hire him. He would brag that his winemaker was an English major while in college who had never gone to school for enology. “He’s self-taught!” he would say as he slid a glass of GTS to you across the table. He gave Thomas only one directive when they agreed to work together; make the best wine you can from this vineyard.
Originally from Sumter, South Carolina, Thomas developed an interest in wine while at the University of Virginia. After moving to the Napa Valley, he expanded his knowledge of wines from all the world's great regions while working at All Seasons Wine Shop in Calistoga, CA. Thomas began making wine in the late 1990s and today makes some of the most sought-after wines to come out of the region. With a singular intuitive sense of balance and patience, he crafts beautiful wines that speak of the land and the conditions that created them. As testament to this, in October 2008, Thomas made history as the youngest winemaker to score not just one, but two perfect "100 point" scores from Robert M. Parker, The Wine Advocate. When asked how he defines great wine, Thomas responds, "I can't really define it, but I know it when I taste it."
