Al Brounstein dies

Offbeat, earnest Diamond Mountain winemaker and grower Al Brounstein lost his two-decade-plus battle with Parkinson’s disease Monday.

Founder of California’s first cabernet sauvignon-only wine estate, the 86-year-old vintner died at home near Calistoga with his wife, Boots, at his side.

„When he came home from the hospital the other day, he held all the employees’ hands and told them what he expected of them, what he wanted for them, in the future,“ his widow said Tuesday. „He was surrounded by love … (and) now he’s at peace.“

As renowned for his wit as he was for blockbuster cabernets, Brounstein was applauded for working and living with the debilitating neurologic disease for 23 years. In recent years, he took up the paintbrush and his canvases not only sold well but were used for brand labels.
 
His tenacity for carving a choice vineyard out of volcanic ash and rock on Diamond Mountain near Calistoga brought admiration from industry leaders and consumers around the world.

Born in Saskatchewan in 1920, he was raised in Minneapolis. Following graduation from the University of Minnesota and a warm winter trip to Southern California, Brounstein phoned his parents to inform them he intended to stay in Los Angeles. It was there in 1945 that he launched a successful wholesale drug and beauty supply business.

„When I drank wine, it was of the least expensive variety,“ Brounstein often said of his initial brush with wine. At the time, he wondered why anyone would spend more than the cost of a bottle of Paul Masson Vin Ros.

In order to learn more about wine and grapegrowing, Brounstein enrolled in a wine appreciation course at UCLA. „I wanted to know what all the fuss was about,“ he said. „Once I’d finished that course I wondered why anyone would ever drink Paul Masson Vin Ros.“

At the age of 47, Brounstein decided he wanted to become even more familiar with wine and grapegrowing. He bought approximately 80 acres in a narrow canyon bisected by Diamond Creek, just outside Calistoga.

Using budwood from some of Bordeaux’s best wine estates (which he called „suitcase clones“ after the way they were smuggled into the United States), Brounstein would eventually plant cabernet sauvignon on four sites on the property.

In developing the property for vines, Brounstein discovered there were three distinct soil types in the canyon, and planted but 20 acres of cabernet in appropriately named Volcanic Hill, Red Rock Terrace and Gravelly Meadow tracts with the hope that each would produce a distinct wine.

An acclaimed first vintage in 1972 proved him right, and he launched the first commercial vineyard on Diamond Mountain since Prohibition.

Not long after, he planted a small cabernet vineyard on flatter land around a small lake on the property. The initial 1978 Lake vintage was the first California wine to retail for $100 per 750 ml bottle.

His wine exploits were eagerly shared by his second wife, Adelle, better known as Boots. They were married in 1969 and lived in San Francisco for a short time before building a home on Diamond Mountain. Brounstein’s first wife of 20 years, Nancy Ravitch, died in 1965.

Consistently ranked by Wine Spectator as one of the top cabernets in California, Diamond Creek wines are highly subscribed by collectors from all over the world.

Brounstein was most proud of the fact that in the early days of the Napa Valley Wine Auction a case of his wine earned a bid of more than $5,000. This June, a Diamond Creek aficionado paid $120,000 for a collection of Lake Vineyard cabernet that included magnums, double magnums and one 9-liter bottle.

„Al was at the forefront of establishing the quality of Napa Valley wines,“ noted fellow vintner John Shafer. „He took a lot of pride in his wines. He set the standard for the first wine auction … his wines were his babies. And everybody loved him.“

Calling him „bright, friendly and innovative,“ winemaker Mike Grgich said Al Brounstein was „a man who made some of the best wines in the Napa Valley. He was always associated with quality. People loved and admired him — he was a hero going through that disease. He fought so many battles and won so many victories. … We will miss him.“

„He was a bright guy, motivated and artistic,“ said neighbor Jamie Davies, chairman of Schramsberg Vineyards’ board of directors.

Praise for his winemaking efforts was well deserved, she said. „He had a great sense of humor, even with Parkinson’s disease. He didn’t let it hold him back (because) he loved life.“

Brounstein is survived by his wife, Boots, with whom he would have celebrated a 37th wedding anniversary come Friday.

Additional survivors include his son, Gary, and stepsons Phil and Chuck Ross.

A private burial is planned in Los Angeles. There will be a celebration of Al Brounstein’s life July 27 at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena.

Source: napavalleyregister.com