Broc Cellars
Broc Cellars is a Berkeley-based natural winery that makes refreshing and approachable wines for everyday drinking. Established in 2002 by owner and winemaker Chris Brockway. His winemaking journey began with California Zinfandel. The spicy, brambly fruit style drew him from his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska all the way to California. What he found, however, was that California wines had changed to fit the “bigger is better” mold of the time. Personally, he felt it was all too much – high alcohol, too big, too much everything. Chris believed California wine could be different. From a single barrel in 2002 to now over 20 different wine releases a year, Broc Cellars makes fresh California wines to enjoy and for your table. In 2023, they extended their vision of simple and ethical winemaking into the vineyard as new owners of Fox Hill Vineyard in Mendocino County which was recently CCOF certified organic this year.
They source an eclectic mix of grapes from all over California, working with vineyards as far south as Paso Robles and as far north as Mendocino. All of the vineyards are organically farmed and family-owned. Their goal in making wine is to bring out the natural expression of the grape. They use organically grown grapes and harvest early for more healthy grapes that retain their good acidity. This often results in lower alcohol wines and the lower Brix (sugar content) at harvest, which allows for easier fermentations. All Broc wines are made using spontaneous fermentation, which means only native yeasts and bacteria that exist on the grapes are used to make the wine. Sulphur is never added during fermentation and ageing, and a minimal amount depending on year and wine may be added at bottling.
Imported by: Les Caves De Pyrène