Philanthropy

A love of the land drew the Thoma family to establish Van Duzer Vineyards on a panoramic knoll in the Willamette Valley in 1999. Carl grew up on his family’s cattle ranch in Oklahoma and learned about agriculture at an early age. He became intrigued by the fledgling California wine industry during his graduate school days. During the 1990’s, Carl began building a portfolio of premier California vineyards and gradually settled on the Willamette Valley as the site for a family estate winery.

He holds a degree in agriculture economics from Oklahoma State University and an MBA from Stanford. One of private equity’s founding fathers, Carl is the Founder and Managing Partner at renowned private equity firm, Thoma Bravo.

Marilynn was key in designing the branding and spirit that still defines Van Duzer today — drawing on her brand management experience at Quaker Oats and Cellular Network. She also holds a B.S. from Oklahoma State and an MBA from Stanford.

Van Duzer Vineyards, through the Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation, supports community well-being, art, education, and vineyard worker health in the Willamette Valley, funding initiatives like affordable housing, healthcare for vineyard stewards via ¡Salud!, and local school supply drives, alongside their own winery events for the local food bank and participation in broader industry giving efforts like Wine Country Thanksgiving.