Brown Family

Saint Helena, CA

Tasting Room at the end of the cave

We discovered Brown Family Wines during the half price wine month at Lark Creek restaurant in Walnut Creek.  All the wines are half price in July each year and this wine was the suggestion of Kurt, our local Lark Creek restaurant bartender.  The first wine we tasted was called Chaos Theory and is actually a blend of mostly Zinfandel and Cabernet; it is also Brown’s least expensive wine we found out later, but it was really good.  Several months later we were at the annual ZAP (Zinfandel) tasting in SF and asked our local Bev Mo wine consultant what wines were the best to taste at the event which included over 200 wineries.  He suggested Brown.  Brown had the longest line at the event, even longer than the Zinfandel heavy hitters like Ridge, Ravenswood and Rosenblum, so apparently the word was out that Brown made good wines.

Restored House on Property

We inquired about visiting Brown and possibly joining their wine club.  Unlike most wineries, we needed to be vetted first.  The process was not too difficult but it did involve a phone interview. They kind of asked who we were, what we knew about Brown, where had we tasted it before, that kind of stuff.  I guess we gave good enough answers because they signed us up for our preliminary (get to know you) visit to the winery and to pick up our first club shipment of wine. 

 

Getting to Brown is a chore in itself.  The winery and facility is located way up highway 128 (Sage Canyon Road) and is probably a good 20 minutes off of the Silverado Trail.  For anyone that has been to Nichelini Winery, Brown is an extra five minutes.  The winery and estate vineyards are located on gently rolling property an elevation of about 1,100 feet (possibly more).  The property includes a beautifully restored house, a small winery facility/tasting rooms and extensive caves.  It is definitely away from the hustle of the Silverado Trail. 
 

Brown is mostly about Zinfandel.  Most of the fruit comes from these mountain vineyards and I believe them to be all in the Chiles Valley Appellation.  Virtually everything is estate grown and they are all good.  At a recent tasting at the winery, a pick-up party, we tasted three of the Zinfandels along with the Chardonnay.  The pick-up parties are very organized events; you reserve a time and when you arrive at the winery you are greeted and shown where to park and receive your name tags and your glass.  You enter the cave at one end and go from station to station, eventually ending up in the tasting room.  First stop was the Chard and this was the kind of Chardonnay I like.  Good fruit but not the over the top malolactic stuff.  Each stop was paired with some food.  We were hoping stop two would have the melted cotswold cheese served out of a mini crock pot and they did.  Two more Zinfandel stops and then we ended up in the Tasting Room where we had the Rosemary’s Zinfandel, our favorite.   The flavors of the Rosemary’s Zin were fun, complex and full. 

Brown makes at least six different Zins priced between $40.00 and $55.00.  The Chardonnay and Petite Sirah are $55.00 and the Cabernet is $60.00.  These are special wines in our wine cabinet and the real special wines are the magnums that are special priced from time to time. 

Brown is open to non-members through appointments and the tasting fee is $50.00

What we like/liked- Brown is a special experience.  We definitely feel like we are part of a unique group when we are there.  And everyone is so nice.

 What we bought- In addition to our pick-up we purchased a Napa Zin Magnum.  We have plenty of Brown wine to last us a while.

Vitals:

Brown Family Vineyards

3233 Sage Canyon Road

St. Helena, CA 94574

(707) 963-2435

www.brownestate.com