"COOLEST, COOL CLIMATE VARIETALS"

About Brandborg Vineyard & Winery

Terry worked in San Francisco and made wine in Richmond sourcing grapes from the finest cool climate regions of California, always searching for the best pinot noir locations. Wines made included Santa Maria Valley, Russian River Valley and Anderson Valley pinot noirs.

Sue lived and worked in the medical profession in Jackson Hole Wyoming. Terry and Sue met there at a trade and consumer wine tasting Memorial Day weekend 1998. They began a real letter correspondence, in which they shared their life experiences and their dreams for the future.

They joined forces in San Francisco in 1999 and a search commenced for the perfect pinot noir location. Terry and Sue looked high and low for that spot that had their name on it. While on a visit to the Umpqua Valley in 2000 they learned that pinot noir had been grown in Elkton since 1972. In July 2001 they visited Elkton and it just felt and looked right. After extensive homework revealed that Elkton had the perfect pinot noir climate they returned only two weeks later and found their dream. They had searched high and low and ended up high. The property is in the coastal mountains, 25 miles to the ocean, at an elevation of 750 to 1150 feet.

Our partners...

Elizabeth Moyer & Michael Powanda

Elizabeth (Moyer) and I (Michael Powanda) trained as biochemists. We have long enjoyed wine as the beverage of choice, both individually, and together, from our first date at the Old Warsaw in Dallas in 1979. In 1982, we took Horace Greeley's advice and came to Mill Valley, California. In 1986, we began aiding and abetting Terry in bottling some of Brandborg, literally handmade in a cellar, first wines, Elizabeth doing the foils and I the labels. Over the years we sampled many bottles of Brandborg and liked Terry's style. So in 2001, when Terry and Sue decided not only to produce wine, but also to grow grapes, and found suitable property in Oregon, we joined the adventure. We provided some seed capital as well as a basic and parsimonious plan for the business, modeled on upstate New York wineries. When not drinking wine, we support ourselves and our other habit of collecting works on paper, by advising and assisting pharmaceutical companies, large and small, to get their drugs into clinical trials and onto the market.

Ron & Ruth Leonardi...Bio coming soon!

Our Valued Employees...

Joan Smith

Born in Elkton to a Father who was a logger and a Mother who worked for a forest nursery, I never imaged working in the industry that would replace the "woods".  The first pinot noir grapes were planted in Elkton when I was in the 8th grade.  I really didn't pay too much attention to the grapes until Terry and Sue built the winery on the vacant lot on Hwy 38 in down town Elkton in 2002. I left my former job in Eugene and started walking to work at the Winery in December 2004. I participate in the entire process of wine making, from working in the vineyard, crush pad and cellar work, to selling wine in the tasting room. We all wear many different hats around here!   I enjoy an active lifestyle with my husband Jeff, son Ruben and his wife Jen, daughter Randi and her husband Eric, and my two grandchildren, Beck and Coe.

Kelsey Scarlett

Kelsey was born in Port Angeles, WA and grew up in Jackson, WY.  Her first cellar experience was working harvest with us in OR.  She then ventured North to the Willamette Valley and worked harvest for Adelsheim.  The next leg of her adventures lead her to New Zealand where she was hired on at Amisfield.  Back in the states she traveled to Sonoma County and landed a job with Benzinger Winery.  It was at this time that she called Terry and asked to come on board with Brandborg and have Terry teach her his winemaking. She moved to Elkton full time in 2010, enrolled in the two year Viticulture/Enology program at Umpqua Community College and that is where she met the love of her life, Chris Pace.  Our granddaughter,Miss Tilly was born on July 9, 2012 and already has had her toes in the winemaking.......

Grape Growing

The Umpqua Valley in general and the Elkton area in particular, affords an opportunity to grow and make superlative wines in one of the most beautiful viticulture areas of the world.

Located three miles southwest of Elkton, our mountainous vineyard has southern exposures and ranges in elevation from 750' to 1000'. Our soils are sand, clay loams, well drained and perfectly suited to very high quality grape production. We began a 50 acre planting project, dedicated primarily to pinot noir. Our vineyard is being planted to a variety of Dijon and Pommard clones. We have chosen to space the vines at 5' by 8', 1089 plants per acre. Wines from our own estate are on their way...

Winemaking

We handcraft fine varietal wines with minimal intervention to preserve the character of the fruit. This style creates wine that is an invitation to fine dining. While our own vineyard matures, we will be making wine from carefully selected vineyards throughout the Umpqua Valley . This unique and diverse grape growing area has allowed us to select varieties best suited to their individual terroir. The northwest and coolest part of this region is Elkton. Here the marine influence permits only cool climate varietals to ripen. We made pinot noir, riesling and gewurztraminer from the Bradley Vineyard, planted in Elkton in 1983. From the Marshanne Vineyard near Oakland, a warmer inland site, we harvested syrah and cabernet franc. Our pinot noir and pinot gris from the Melrose Vineyard are both very lush and fruity. We selected three clones of pinot noir from the Red Hill Vineyard, the highest in the Umpqua AVA. These grapes see the biggest daily temperature swings in the area and are very well structured.