Today we’d like to introduce you to Jean-Louis Horvilleur.
Hi Jean-Louis, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Better explained in person. Shorter version- in college I had an epiphany to become a winemaker. It’s something I’ve dedicated everything to. I entered into the wine industry at 20 years old and I’ll be 32 in December. I was born and raised in Houston, Texas and got my start in the hill county part of Texas. I’ve worked with about 22 varietals in Texas chiefly vitis vinifera, then in the spring 2019, moved to Kansas City to work for TerraVox Winery as the winemaker and vineyard manager, since then I’ve worked with additional 60+ native North American grapes. TerraVox, founded by Jerry Eisterhold, is a unique project where we’ve resurrected these lost forgotten grapes and since then we’ve been literally writing the book and standardizing winemaking from these grapes.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nintai comes to mind, a Japanese expression defined as the ability to endure difficulties or suffering with perseverance. The process of growing grapes, winemaking, business all comes with many unique challenges. You’re at the mercy of Mother Nature, there’s a great deal of education and muscle memory to establish. It’s not easy, it’s extremely taxing for many reasons-But, that doesn’t mean the highs haven’t matched the lows. Working in a creative profession, partnered with chemistry, business and excitement has been an absolute dream come true and it just continues to get better.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m currently the Winemaker at TerraVox Winery. We specialize making wine from native North American grapes. We make white, rosé, red, port style and sometimes sparkling, primarily dry, but we do have some other options that has slight RS. One of the notable things we’ve been “known for” outside of the project I just described, we’ve been featured in the Smithsonian magazine, we’ve won best of class, double gold etc at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine competition, publications in Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Atlas obscura to name a few. Personally, I have difficulty with being proud about something, say we win an award, there’s just a feeling of not enough, or there’s plenty more to do. Personally, I’m very happy with our accomplishments, but things like winery efficiencies, discovering typicity for a specific grape/wine, and getting the word out there and building a community are some of the things where when it works it’s just a great rewarding feeling. When I look back on when I first had my dream, day 1, I’d tell myself, we did it, we accomplished our dream, but there’s not resting on our laurels, we’ve got more in store for us.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
My mentors book, Post modern winemaking, by Clark Smith. Building a community and network for references, troubleshooting and education- it’s better to people face than ask AI or Google. YouTube “university” is great, but doesn’t make you an expert or a professional. The almanack of Naval Ravikant. Anything from Michael Pollan, especially how to change your mind and botany of desire. Impact players by Liz Wiseman. Meditations- Marcus Aurelius. For me, I wanted to walk the walk to begin my winemaking journey, free internships, then college credited internships. Next step was to get hired by a winery, then get muscle memory. Next I backed it up with more education. Eventually, when I became winemaker and vineyard manager, getting my masters to make more informed decision making models.
Pricing:
- They range between $22-$75 a bottle depending on the style. Can work on this later.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://TerraVox.wine
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terravox.winery.events
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1bqz9L5SW5/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/terravox-winery/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@terravox_winery
