GOT GRAPES? California's Perfect Summer Red
Broc Cellars is a tiny winery that hails from the mean streets of South Berkeley. Chris Brockway, winemaker/proprietor, crafts his wares naturally.
He has a tallent for eschewing modern yeast, wine additives, and aggressive winemaking techniques. He works almost exclusively with sustainably farmed grapes, from both familiar and esoteric varieties.
From the beginning, folks took notice and over the last five or so vintages, the wines have become something truly special and the press can't seem to get enough.
Since so much has already been written about Broc Cellars (a Google search will lead you to glowing reviews from the New York Times to Sprudge), we will keep this short.
We've been paying attention to Chris and his wines since the early days. Back then the wines were fascinating, delicious and clearly told a story of a young, talented winemaker trying to find his voice.
That voice is now crystal clear. The wines have taken on a level of purity and elegance that we often find lacking in many California natural wines. Each bottle is a window to its location and vintage, like all great wines, but what makes Broc wines special is their exhilarating tension.
Acid, minerality, and fruit, all pulling at each other's corners, makes for vibrant, complex, and deeply delicious wines
Chris’s single vineyard, single variety wines are not to be missed but honestly we get just as excited when the newest vintage of Got Grapes is released.
A multi-vintage, multi-variety project that came about in 2017 because of a blended wine made accidentally during a hectic harvest. It turned out to be something rather special and is now one of the best values in Cali wines.
Over the years the blend has included almost every red variety, from every vineyard that Broc works with, made to be enjoyed chilled down, year round.
We’ve loved every release since but the current one is by far our favorite yet. It drinks and smells like Beaujolais but with a little less fleshy fruit and more crisp acidity. Kinda like Beaujolais before the heat.
Juicy cranberries and blackberries squeezed over crushed rose petals and granite. This is perfect on its own but its low tannins and alcohol make this a fun wine to pair. This is as fun as it is delicious and this price makes it darn near irresistible!