David Bruce Vineyards Following a Dream

by Bennet and Sheila Bodenstein 

Syndicated Wine Columnists (www.onwine.cc)

There are some people who are driven by a dream; David Bruce has been driven by two. Dr. David Bruce is a dermatologist and serious wine enthusiast. As a wine enthusiast he has done what all wine enthusiasts dream of doing, he opened his own winery. This was not done when he retired from medicine but rather when he began his practice. At a time when California grape growing land was very reasonable, 1961, Dr. Bruce purchased 40 acres near Los Gatos California. Over the next three years, he cleared the land, built a house, a small winery, and finally planted 25 acres of vineyards.

Dr. Bruce spent the next twenty years of his spare time and vacations experimenting and making wine. To help support his hobby he made his wines commercially available to other wine enthusiasts. As the popularity of his wine grew among that select circle, it also began to appear on dealer's shelves. Before long Dr. Bruce had two successful carriers running, medicine and winemaking.

David Bruce's approach to winemaking is simple enough, and that is to offer the people who purchase his wine the best that can be made. Throughout the history of the David Bruce Winery, it has been on the cutting edge of technology and in many cases way ahead of it. Winemaking techniques that are currently the "in" thing among California vintners have been used for many years at the David Bruce Winery.

David Bruce 1999 Central Coast Pinot Noir ($20). The fruit for this wine is drawn from some of the better pinot noir grape growing regions in California and most specifically from the Edna Valley. As proof of its quality, the wine has a dark ruby color, a color achieved only by pinot noir wines that have been specially cared for. David Bruce's 1999 Central Coast Pinot Noir exhibits a broad spectrum of flavors, with cherries, plums, and wild summer berries being the most prominent. There are also other flavors lying in the background with oak and an earthy mushroom flavor being the most obvious. This very well made wine is drinkable now or can be laid down for as long as five years, to gain additional complexity and depth.

David Bruce 1998 Pinot Noir Sonoma County ($25). To create this Sonoma County Pinot Noir David Bruce and his vintners select fruit from vineyards in the Russian River Valley and Chalk Hill regions of Sonoma County. These are the growing districts that produce the finest of the California pinot noir grapes. Here to, as in the Central Coast Pinot noir, it is the flavor and aroma of cherries that permeates the wine. There is also oak and vanilla in the background to add further to the complexity. All of this is wrapped in an unforgettable velvet like softness. This is a very well made and exceptional wine will prove the quality of a David Bruce wine.

David Bruce 1998 Paso Robles Zinfandel ($16). This is one of the wines that have raised the once lowly zinfandel grape to new heights of excellence. The Paso Robles grape growing district has earned a reputation for producing Zinfandel grapes that result in outstanding wines. The David Bruce 1998 Paso Robles Zinfandel displays a concentrated ripe berry fruit flavor, spice and nuances of vanilla, caramel and toast. Please do not consider the zinfandel wines as an also ran to other varieties. They have come of age and deserve a place of honor with the other classical varieties. Sampling this wine will prove how far zinfandel winemaking has come and how much further some of the others have to go.

David Bruce 1998 Central Coast Petite Syrah ($16) David Bruce joins the ever-increasing list of vintners working with the petite syrah grape. This wine emphasizes the abundant berry fruit and rose petal perfume aromas of the variety. Blending the wine with Grenache and Syrah adds a hint of raspberry and peppercorn flavors. The David Bruce 1998 Central Coast Petite Syrah is a gem and another instance of how an often-overlooked variety can be brought to new heights of excellence. This red wine can accompany a very broad spectrum of food but stands out with strongly flavored or spicy dishes.