January 1, 2009
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Brogan Cellars
| Owner(s) | Margi Wierenga |
| Web site | www.brogancellars.com |
| Link to this site |
It's nothing fancy-a bare bones, makeshift winery arranged under a carport roof in Sonoma County's Dry Creek Valley. You will find there's a sense of deja vu at Brogan Cellars, and for a good reason. Besides sharing father Burt Williams' hearty laugh and passion for Pinot Noir, she has pursued a similar course in her winemaking career.
Margi was a teenager when her father, Burt Williams, started making the first Williams Selyem wines in a bathtub in a basement beneath their garage in the late 1970s. For several years she worked as a volunteer at her father's winery housed in a garage in Fulton before taking a paid position in 1993 at the Westside Road facility. In between, she worked in different capacities at Hop Kiln Winery. In 1998, she decided to follow in her father's footsteps and start her own winery.
Brogan Cellars, named after Margaret's ("Margi's") paternal grandmother, has all the earmarks of a mom and pop operation. "It's a bootstrap business run on a lean $75,000 start up budget," she says. Her husband, Mike, who owns a refrigeration company, is a handyman who rigged up her winemaking equipment. They use small old dairy vats for fermenters and purchased most of the other equipment, including a tiny crusher. The barrel-aging room, office and tasting area are in a tight, 800 square-foot converted garage that Wierenga was happy to call home until 2002, when additional space was obtained in Hopland, 30 miles north of Healdsburg.
In 2004, Margi and Mike's son James joined Brogan, adding a third generation to the family business. And customers, too, become family at Brogan. During the harvest, many old friends and customers still volunteer to help with the crush.
Margi crafts age worthy Pinot Noirs from premium vineyards in the Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley (her father's Morning Dew Ranch). At times she produces other varieties as well. Most of the wine (less than 2,000 cases annually) is sold to an eager mailing list. Tasting by appointment. 707-473-0211.
Articles About Brogan Cellars
Pinot Noirs from Producers Outside the Anderson Valley that Source Grapes from within the Anderson Valley (6.60 6/9/2008)
Pinots from the Edge (6.57 4/7/2008)
Small Sips of Russian River Valley Pinot (7.9 1/1/2009)
Small Sips of the Russian River Valley (6.63 8/4/2008)
Some Other Enjoyable Sonoma Coast Pinots (6.14 1/29/2007)
Tasting of Anderson Valley Pinot Noirs (6.28 6/3/2007)
Well-Bred Pinots Tasted Recently (6.24 4/30/2007)
Reviewed Wines
2007 Brogan Cellars Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
14.1% alc., $40.
·
Deep, richly perfumed nose
featuring black raspberries and Asian spice. Satisfying cherry and berry fruit, subtly oaked and spiced, with a
moderate tannic backbone. Light and silky in the mouth. Not as rich on the palate as the nose would suggest
but a good drink. A Gold Medal winner at the 2008 Sonoma Harvest Fair Wine Competition.
Reviewed January 1, 2009
ARTICLE »
2006 Brogan Cellars Morning Dew Ranch Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2006 Brogan Cellars Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2006 Brogan Cellars Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2005 Brogan My Father’s Vineyard Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2004 Brogan Cellars Summa Vineyard Young Vine Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2004 Brogan Cellars Summa Vineyard Young Vines Sonoma Coast
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2004 Brogan Cellars Buena Tierra Vineyard Helio Doro Block Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2003 Brogan Cellars Buena Tierra Vineyard Helio Doro Block Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2002 Brogan Cellars Buena Tierra Vineyard Helio Doro Block Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2001 Brogan Cellars Buena Tierra Vineyard Helio Doro Block Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2007 Brogan Cellars Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
14.1% alc., $40. · Deep, richly perfumed nose featuring black raspberries and Asian spice. Satisfying cherry and berry fruit, subtly oaked and spiced, with a moderate tannic backbone. Light and silky in the mouth. Not as rich on the palate as the nose would suggest but a good drink. A Gold Medal winner at the 2008 Sonoma Harvest Fair Wine Competition. Reviewed January 1, 2009 ARTICLE »
2006 Brogan Cellars Morning Dew Ranch Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2006 Brogan Cellars Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2006 Brogan Cellars Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2005 Brogan My Father’s Vineyard Anderson Valley Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2004 Brogan Cellars Summa Vineyard Young Vine Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2004 Brogan Cellars Summa Vineyard Young Vines Sonoma Coast
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2004 Brogan Cellars Buena Tierra Vineyard Helio Doro Block Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2003 Brogan Cellars Buena Tierra Vineyard Helio Doro Block Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2002 Brogan Cellars Buena Tierra Vineyard Helio Doro Block Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
2001 Brogan Cellars Buena Tierra Vineyard Helio Doro Block Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Subscribe now for full access to all tasting and production notes.
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