Brian Denner, Winemaker

After earning his anthropology degree from Connecticut College, Brian took a year off to be a ski bum in Winterpark, Colorado. While snowboarding during the day, he worked evenings in a local restaurant with an impressive wine list. He got the bug, and started reading about wine and attending tastings. After a year in the mountains, he came to Paso Robles, California to immerse himself in the wine industry. There he worked as a cellar rat at Peachy Canyon Winery during the week, then went to Dark Star Cellars on the weekends to assist in winemaking and to work in the tasting room.

Satisfied that he was in it for the long haul, but unsatisfied with the lack of science in his background, Brian earned his second degree, this time in enology, from Fresno State. At the end of his studies, he had the good fortune of sitting next to Bob Cabral of Williams-Selyem Winery, at an Enology Society lunch. He soon found himself working for one of the most esteemed pinot noir producers in California, fresh out of school. He stayed for three years, as Cellar Master, where he had the opportunity to work with and share knowledge with winemakers from all over the globe.

In addition to making the Denner wines, he worked for three years as "Enologo," with winemaker Byron Kosuge at Kingston Family Vineyards in Casablanca, Chile. Chile's growing season is opposite that of California's, so he was able to work two harvests per year. With ten harvests under his belt, Brian took over as Denner Vineyards' winemaker with the 2004 harvest.