Senses Wines Senses Wines Senses Wines
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Vision

Senses Wines is the dream of three childhood friends. Chris, Max and Myles partnered with critically acclaimed winemaker, Thomas Rivers Brown, to produce world-class wines from renowned vineyards owned by their families. Since founding, Senses production has grown to include many coveted vineyard sites throughout Sonoma County.

The Senses estate vineyards are located in the West Sonoma Coast region of northern California, specifically in the small town of Occidental where the three founders grew up.


Winemaking

Our wines embody the natural and distinct characteristics of the coastal vineyards from where the grapes are grown. Our team believes the vineyards are Senses’ greatest assets, and we meticulously farm each vine so the winemaking process can be as hands-off as possible. This approach ensures the complexity and finesse we expect for each wine, vintage after vintage. Grapes are hand sampled and harvested at ideal ripeness, cold-soaked for a few days, fermented with yeasts indigenous to the vineyard, pressed and barreled into a selection of our favorite French cooperages.

Team

Chris Strieter

Founder

Max Thieriot

Founder

Myles Lawrence-Briggs

Founder

Thomas Rivers Brown

Winemaker

Andy Jones

Assistant Winemaker

Chelsea Boss

General Manager

Kelsey Strieter

Direct Marketing

Lexi Thieriot

Customer Relations

Beaux Thieriot

Chief Baby

Chris Strieter

Founder

Chris combined his dream to own a business with his passion for wine when he partnered with Max and Myles. Rather than pursuing a career in consulting, he worked harvest after graduating from Claremont with his Master’s degree in Finance. He also worked with Williams Selyem, a classic cult Pinot Noir producer. This experience and knowledge sparked his interest and ultimately led to the beginning of Senses. Chris is intimately involved with all aspects of the business.

Max Thieriot

Founder

Max grew up in the vineyard. Before he could walk, he was riding in a tractor with his father – farming their family’s esteemed Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards. Max is excited to take his passion and creativity from his career in acting and apply it to making world-class wines. He’s involved with many aspects of Senses from vineyard acquisitions, operations, brand development and wholesale sales.

 

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Myles Lawrence-Briggs

Founder

Myles couldn’t stay away from wine country and returned to the area to learn the craft of winemaking after graduating from University of Colorado with his English Literature degree. Myles manages production from grape to bottle and works with our consulting winemaker, Thomas Rivers Brown, to craft our newest vintages. It’s suspected he reads Tennyson to his vines, but that they much prefer Robert Browning.

Thomas Rivers Brown

Winemaker

Thomas was born in Sumter, South Carolina. He attended the University of Virginia, where he majored in English and economics. It was then he found his love for wine. In 1996, Brown moved to Napa to pursue his passion. He was shortly thereafter hired to help in the cellar at Turley Wine Cellars. After three years, Thomas ventured out on his own. He has since made history on several occasions and has become one of the most sought after winemakers in the Napa Valley.

In October 2008, Thomas made history as the youngest winemaker to score not only one, but two perfect “100 point” ratings from Robert M. Parker, The Wine Advocate. Then in October 2010, Thomas was again awarded two top “100 point” ratings from Wine Spectator’s James Laube. This made Thomas the first American winemaker to ever receive 100 points from Wine Spectator. This same year Thomas was named “Winemaker of the Year” by Food & Wine. Since then, Thomas has gone on to receive at least six additional 100 point ratings from The Wine Advocate. His portfolio of wines is now decorated with over 15 100-point wines.

Thomas’ expertise with Burgundian varietals, combined with his love for Occidental’s Sonoma Coast growing region make him a natural fit for us at Senses. We consider ourselves very privileged to be led by Thomas, a man of many accomplishments.

Andy Jones

Assistant Winemaker

Andy’s passion and positive energy is an essential part of the Senses winemaking team. Prior to joining the Thomas Rivers Brown consulting winemaking team back in 2008, Andy worked at Solage in the restaurant field. After just three years working for Thomas, he was promoted to Assistant Winemaker for their winemaking portfolio. Through this depth of experience, Andy has developed a keen understanding of what it means to craft world-class wines, which he applies directly to Senses in the cellar. You can find him on the crush pad directing production operations, in the barrel rooms overseeing the lifecycle of our wines, or out in the vineyards with Chris, Max and Myles sampling berries prior to harvest.

Chelsea Boss

General Manager

Chelsea was born in the Inland Northwest and graduated from Boise State University with a dual bachelors in Business Management and Visual Arts. During college, she discovered the Snake River Valley wine-growing region and began working at a local urban winery in Boise, Idaho. It was immediately apparent the wine industry embodied the values she is passionate about: Friends and family gathering, story telling, travel and culture, the arts and science. Since moving to Napa Valley in 2012, she has worked closely with distinguished winemakers crafting high-end Cabernet, managing business and operations. During this time, Chelsea developed a personal bias towards Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and discovered Senses. In 2017, she joined the team as General Manager.

Kelsey Strieter

Direct Marketing

Kelsey grew up in Occidental not knowing she was destined for wine. She studied Business Marketing at Sonoma State University and joined Jackson Family Wines directly out of college. She worked in various roles including trade marketing and learned how larger companies are run. After a few years, she decided to join Furthermore Wines as their Business and Marketing Manager. At Senses, she is involved in marketing and general operations but is most excited to be part of the family company that her brother co-founded. Kelsey’s background and willingness to learn makes her a perfect fit for Senses.

Lexi Thieriot

Customer Relations

Lexi grew up in Sonoma County and has always had an interest in the wine industry but it wasn’t until an internship at Caymus Vineyards in Napa that she fell in love. She quickly realized that a career in wine was her goal after graduating from Loyola Marymount University. Lexi was fortunate to work at Landmark Vineyards shortly after graduation. During her nearly three years at Landmark, she worked in various customer relation positions. She then jumped in with Senses!

Beaux Thieriot

Chief Baby

Don’t let his cuteness fool you: Baby Beaux Thieriot is the real man in charge. Captivating those in his presence with each playful grin, Beaux reminds us to follow our passion and never stop short of happiness. He’s even the first to taste Senses grape juice straight from press, and provides feedback through his unreserved facial expressions. His day job, though, remains grounded in keeping the Thieriot household in line, or out of line, depending on how you look at it!

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Senses Wines
  • story
  • vineyards
  • wines
  • acquire
  • Members
  • Find Us
  • Visit Us
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Trade