GustavoThraceIN THE HEART OF NAPA VALLEYFrom The Wall Street Journal online - Marketwatch: "Gustavo Brambila, played by talented actor Freddy Rodriguez in the film, was one of the first Mexican Americans to earn a wine degree from U.C. Davis. His first job was serving as assistant winemaker to winemaker Mike Grgich at Chateau Montelena in 1976. When Grgich left to start Grgich Hills, Brambila went with him, working at Grgich Hills until 1999 when he started his own winery GustavoThrace with partner Thrace Bromberger. Bromberger reports increases in wine sales, increases in tourism to the Wine Country, and significant interest from the Latino community in the many accomplishments Gustavo's story represents: "GustavoThrace had its best sales month ever in August [2008], up 43% over August 2007, and September is already up 39% over the same period a year ago. We've had a huge influx of customers coming to find us after seeing the film, and a tremendous number of new distributors inquiring about picking up our line of wines for distribution around the country. We are seeing visitors in our tasting room from the Bay Area who've seen the film and say they haven't been to Napa in years; as well as visitors from all over the country flying out because the film showed them just how beautiful this area is. And we've had many calls of congratulations and requests from Latino organizations about Gustavo doing appearances and pouring wine at special events." 
"In the wake of a recent sales slowdown, Frank Melis, wine director of the Cannery Wine Cellar at Fisherman's Wharf e-mailed about 300 wineries to warn that many of his loyal customers were abandoning California wines for lower priced imports...One of the wineries receiving Melis' pleas, GustavoThrace of Napa, is cutting the price of it's latest vintage of 1,000 cases of Chardonnay from $40 a bottle to $35. The winery was started five years ago by longtime winemaker Gustavo Brambila (a veteran of the Peju and Grgich Hills wineries) and former attorney Thrace Bromberger. It allocated most of its wines to restaurants, but demand has slowed. "A table of six that used to buy three bottles of wine now buys one, brings another from home and doesn't pay a corkage fee," Said Bromberger. "The economy is no longer strong enough to pull through expensive wines." As a way to curb costs without severely cutting quality, Gustavo tharce is using 25 percent used French oak barrels to age its Chardonnay rather than buying all new barrels every year. Since the barrels cost $600 each, that's a savings of about 75 cents per bottle." Peter Sinton, Chronicle Senior Writer, San Francisco Chronicle, Price Cuts make this a good time to be a wine lover. December 23, 2001
"Nowadays Mexican-Americans - and Hispanics in general - are finding success at all levels of the industry. The voices of those who bring wine to the tables of America and the world - from vineyard workers to winery owners - are many and varied....GustavoThrace Winery is the result of a partnership begun in 1996 when Thrace Bromberger met Gustavo Brambila at a Little League baseball game in which both their sons were playing" - Latino Leaders, January 2002. A Labor of Love - Hispanics in the Napa Wine Industry "A short walk to the North is Town. It is in the bosom of the Chambers Hotel...The wine list, selected by Steve Dowd, is rich in every category and intelligently titled by style...Big, bold, unusual wines such as....GustavoThrace Zinfandel '98 ($52)." Wine Spectator, Jan/Feb, 2002. "Dining In" in New York. "There are sassy, street-smart zins and then there are supple, sweet-talking zins. I tasted a fair share of both Staurday in San Francisco, working my way through a maze of people pouring barrel samples of 2000 zinfandels just coming on the market....GustavoThrace, a samll winery in the city of Napa, also makes an elegant zinfandel, one that manages to be both medium bodied and very spicy." "If you'd make zinfandel in the Rhone it would be this," said Thrace Bromberger, co-owner. "I think this is where styles are going. It's less about the vintage and more about the winemkaing style." In most cases I surprised myself, preferring these less concentraed Rhone-style zins, seething with spice......GustavoThrace, 1999 Chiles Valley, Napa Valley $26, March release. Rhone-like, with elegant fruit, and great spice. Medium bodied. Notes of clove, anise, allspice, nutmeg, white pepper and cracked black pepper." Peg Melnik, The Press Democrat, January 30, 2002 GustavoThrace ‘Napa’ 1997 “One of the most spectacular Cabernets of the new year. Definitely worthy of a ‘Reserve’ designation, as this wine achieves levels of grandeur usually reserved for the $100 per bottle club. A magnificent achievement” “For those of you who enjoyed the first release of Gustavo’s Chardonnay, I can honestly tell you that this first release of their Cabernet will make your mouth water. I tasted it twice out of the barrel and recently after it was bottled. I feel that another “cult” winery has been born!….The flavors of this wine are intense. The wine offers rich dark-cherry and a sweet spice and a hint of roses from the oak barrels enrich black currant flavors. The result is an opulent, elegant Cabernet with a long ripe finish.” “**** GustavoThrace 1998 Zinfandel – is good and solid, and the component vineyards of the ’99 were interesting, with the “Chicken Coop” being the most forward and interesting. Hopefully, they’ll bottle some separately.” GUSTAVOTHRACE Chardonnay 1997 May 22, 2000 “We think of Chardonnay as a wine to sip at a party or paired with rich creamy dishes at dinner. But this small production, newcomer has high acid, and a soft oak nuance, making it a good match for flavorful fish dishes…..The production of this stunning and food-friendly Chardonnay was very small….it is difficult to find in stores, but it certainly is a wine to seek out on wine lists in the Bay Area and one to watch as the vines continue to mature.” “With the 98s, it’s a fairly simple process; if you taste a delicious wine, the winemaker is either great or really lucky…among those that showed lots of promise and deserve the attention of zinfanatics are…..GUSTAVOTHRACE” “XX Imagine Pete Townsend sending Alicia Silverstone into sour cherry ecstasy – do we need to explain this? One…you know from XXX.” "Alone among the five Mexicans who now have their own labels, Gustavo Brambila started his business as a winemaker rather than vineyard owner. Also from Jalisco, he emigrated in 1955 with his father, who worked in vineyards in Oakville. As a boy, Gustavo met wine figures like Andre Tchelistcheff and Tom Selfridge, and experimented with makine wine. After high school, he took courses at Napa Valley College and then turned down a baseball scholarship to attend UC Davis and study fermentation science. His lab partner was Mike Martini. Brambila joined Mike Grgich at Chateau Montelena in 1976, then followed him when he started his own winery. He spent 22 years at Grgich Hills, then became general manager and winemaker at Peju Province two years ago. Meanwhile, he teamed up with wine marketer (and lawyer) Thrace Bromberger to form GustavoThrace Winery in 1996. Their first wine was a zinfandel made from second crop, but they've come far since then. They now have their own winery in downtown Napa on Vallejo St., where they make about 2,200 cases of chardonnay, zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon and Asteros, a white blend. The chardonnay comes from his sister Martha Ceja's extended family, but the $60 Chiles Valley Cabernet has generated the greatest buzz. The partners recently bought 1,000 acres in Chiles Valley at a bargain price. There they hope to develop 25-50 acres of vineyards, reducing their dependence on other growers. "I want to control every aspect of the wine," says Brambila." Paul Franson, Napa Register, Mexican families make a name in the wine business after toiling in the background. January 13, 2002. |
"I can see you fly. You are an angel with wings, high above the ground!"
(traditional haiku poem)
|
|