Your background is in farming, so what got you into wine and more specifically vineyard management?
Brenae Royal says understanding the science of a vineyard is key to growing good quality grapes
I was introduced to farming by my grandmother, who had an enormous garden. At the age of 17, I was an officer at Future Farmers of America. I started drinking wine in college, I worked all the way through college and initially went in under animal science because I had previously reared pigs, but I didn’t want to continue that so changed to crops and horticulture science.
In my senior year, I turned into an old lady where my most fun nights consisted of Apothic Red, a puzzle and Jeopardy. So that’s how I got introduced into wine, I loved it and when I went to my last career fair E.& J. Gallo Winery was there and just happened to have a magnum of Apothic Red on its stand. I was like, “we’ve got to make this work because I can probably farm it. I know I love drinking it. Let’s mak
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In this episode, host Zach Geballe sits down with Brenae Royal, the vineyard manager at Monte Rosso. Here, Royal explains her career path entering agriculture right out of college and joining the Monte Rosso team. After years of working with her team and watching the grapes take off, Royal has become a tried and true Zinfandel lover and established viticulturist.
For many of us, winter means a blazing fireplace and Sunday stews. Those of us planning to be in warmer climates, it’s time for a jacket and maybe a brisk walk in the morning. No matter where you live, winter is the season to move to heartier red wines.
California Vineyard Series: Monte Rosso
BY ANTONIO GALLONI | DECEMBER 18, 2020
Few vineyards in California are as evocative as Monte Rosso. Known for producing wines of extraordinary character and longevity, Monte Rosso (‘red mountain’) is every bit as magical as its name suggests.
The first Monte Rosso wine I remember tasting was a Cabernet Sauvignon from Ed Sbragia about ten years ago. It was so distinctive, and so incredibly different from the Napa Valley Cabernets I was used to. That was my first real introduction to Sonoma Cabernet. I was immediately hooked. Later, I had the opportunity to taste many Martini wines from the 1950s and 1960s that told the story of a remarkable place.