Our Story

When we met over twenty years ago, we agreed on a fundamental idea: we wanted to build a life together that felt like an adventure. That shared dream led us from California to Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Grant dove into the wine world, first as the assistant winemaker at Hamacher Wines, and then spending a rich, foundational decade as the assistant winemaker and eventually head winemaker at Beaux Frères. During those ten years, our roots grew deep. Renée taught high school while Grant gained an intimate understanding of the soils, climates, and personalities—both of the land and the people—that define the valley. We started a family, made lifelong friends, drank beautiful wines, and quietly dreamed of a life that would bring us more together than apart.

In 2015, we took the leap. We sold our house in Portland, scraped together every penny we had, and moved to a fixer-upper in the valley to build Hundred Suns. Eventually, Grant transitioned from Beaux Frères to oversee the vineyards and winemaking for Flâneur Wines, while Renée swapped the classroom for the cellar and the day-to-day business operations. From the winemaking and label design to building the website and hand-dipping bottles in wax, every aspect of Hundred Suns bears our fingerprints.

In 2018, we bought a 4.5-acre property in the Eola-Amity Hills, where a 50-year-old vineyard became our children’s backyard. When disease forced us to remove those historic vines in 2020, we replanted in the spring of 2022. Farming this site ourselves has brought us even closer to the craft.

Our next chapter includes building our very own winery right down the hill from our home and estate vineyard. While our journey has been slow and intentional, we feel an enormous sense of pride in having built this dream together—brick by brick.