Born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, Patrice Breton benefited from an upbringing saturated with art, science, history, and culture, all of which he loved and recognized in the early bottles he tasted. Patrice fell in love with fine wine at the age of 20. It was the entire experience – the color, texture, complexity, perfume ... and the appreciation of the hard work that went into making these wines. He was captivated and intrigued, which inspired him to plunge into the study of wine. He fondly remembers his first great bottle, a Château Guiraud 1983, which he purchased for $97, one week’s salary back then.

As it went, at 23, Patrice welcomed the arrival of his first child, and attended business school in Montreal, Canada. The early 90's found him working to support his young family and honing his coding and entrepreneurial skills as the World Wide Web began to take off. He went on to start one of the first internet companies in Canada and marveled at the rate with which it grew. In the year 2000, Patrice was fortunate to have the opportunity to take his company public, allowing him to finally pursue his long awaited winemaking dreams.

VICE VERSA was born in 2003 after a few years Patrice spent working alongside the influential winemaker Paul Hobbs. The hands-on education and experience he got with him went beyond skills and methodology. Introductions were made, an organic network of friendships with the industry’s most respected players was formed, and knowledge is continuously traded, which enables VICE VERSA to craft the kinds of wines that originally sparked this journey.