Vinum Cellars is a collaboration of winemakers Richard Bruno and Chris
Condos, who first became friends while they were students at UC Davis.
They share a long standing passion for Chenin Blanc and fondness for the
more obscure grape varieties.
After graduation, Chris went to work for Pine Ridge as Enologist, and
Richard went to Bonny Doon as their distiller. Shortly after, their
friendship was solidified over Chenin Blanc with the creation of their
first wine "Pointe Blanc". Currently the Vinum Cellars team is working
with over 14 grape varieties from El Dorado and San Benito Counties to
Napa Valley.
Our basic winemaking philosophy is to work with great grape
growers to develop the best fruit in the vineyard. We pick the
grapes at optimal ripeness and gently process the fruit. We are
very experimental with yeast strains and use different cultures
for each variety. Our whites are barrel fermented slowly and
aged Sur Lies in small French Oak barrels. With our reds, skin
contact is optimized by the use of small open top fermentors,
hand punch downs and extended maceration before pressing.
Our belief in the use of older French Oak barrels allows the
varietal fruit of our wines to be expressed. We are committed
to experimenting and learning new winemaking methods while
preserving an old world approach.
