Some of you clearly know Briceland Vineyards. For those of you who have not yet heard the story or sampled the wines, please allow me to introduce myself and the winery that I run with my wife in Humboldt County. I am a second generation winemaker, having apprenticed with my stepfather, Joe Collins. Joe is widely credited with establishing commercial production in Southern Humboldt County based on his work dating back to the ’70’s and has been key to the development of wine production in the broader region.
To check our our offers, go here: Briceland Vineyards • Humboldt Pinots, Zin, Syrah & More. OFFERS 4-7 • THANKS TO EVERYONE! - BerserkerDay VIII (January 27, 2017) - WineBerserkers
We are best known for wines made from some of the original Southern Humboldt Pinot Noir Vineyards which Joe helped to establish from the early 80’s to early 90’s. One of those wines was Prince of Pinot’s highest rated CA Pinot under $36 for 2016: 2013 Alderpoint Vineyard Humboldt Pinot Noir. He rated it 94 points and listed it on his CA All American Pinot Noirs and his CA All American Value Priced Lists.
Our small batch wines (usually between 75 and 150 cases) are site driven and aim to reveal differences between vineyards. We make restrained wines that are lightly oaked, have moderate to low alcohol and relatively high acidity. The focus of our winemaking is to showcase the unique terroir of each of our vineyards.
Humboldt County is about halfway between Sonoma County and the Oregon border. In some ways, the growing conditions of our region have more in common with southern Oregon than most of the other wine producing regions of California. While most of our fruit comes from Humboldt County, we also work with fruit from neighboring Mendocino County, which is directly south of us. Some recent tasting notes and a comparison of our Humboldt vs Mendocino batches by Isaac James Baker of Terroirist is here: http://www.terroirist.com/2016/11/wine-in-the-wilderness-exploring-humboldts-lost-coast/
More recently, we have started producing a wider range of Humboldt grown wines since we established our relationship with Ishi Pishi Ranch near Orleans in NE Humboldt. Syrah, Zinfandel and a range of other varieties are expertly farmed at that site.
Please check out what we have to offer on Jan. 27. It is our pleasure to offer our wines to you Berserkers!
More background below…
Briceland Vineyards has been producing wine in Southern Humboldt County since 1985. Joe Collins, my step-father who started the winery with my mother Maggie, started researching the viability of planting grapes in our area with a small experimental vineyard in the late 70’s and he is widely credited with establishing commercial wine-growing in our area.
Maggie & Joe built the winery up slowly over 20+ years, gradually increasing production as more local vineyards came online. About 75% of our production is from Humboldt County grapes, almost all of which are farmed organically in tiny hillside vineyards. The remaining 25% is from Mendocino and Lake Counties. We take pride in supporting our local community and our community has supported us as well – over 90% of our wine sells within 75 miles of the winery without the aid of brokers or distributors.
Briceland Vineyards has long been a proponent of organic farming. Most of the grapes used to make the wines offered above have been farmed organically. Some of the vineyards that we work with are so small that they no longer maintain the certification, but they continue to farm organically. If you’d like details on this, let me know.
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I haven’t sent our wines to many reviewers because we tend to keep supply and demand in balance as it stands. The best place to read reviews in on our reviews is on PrinceofPinot.com. I am pleased that we have had wines on the All American Lists each of the last 6 years. All our wines that the Prince has reviewed can be found here: Link information for Briceland Vineyards | The PinotFile In 2016 he reviewed five of our Pinot Noirs and the scores ranged from 89 to 94. The 94 was for our 2013 Alderpoint Vineyard Humboldt which was on both his CA All American List and his CA All American Value Priced List. It was his top scoring CA Pinot under $36.
You can see our Cellar Tracker Reviews here: Search tasting notes for 'briceland' - CellarTracker
Our wines have been well received by Berserkers. It is a lot to sort through, but here is a search: http://www.wineberserkers.com/forum/search.php?keywords=briceland&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=all&sr=posts&sk=t&sd=d&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search
If you’re interested in learning more about Humboldt County terroir: Humbolt County Terroir - Humboldt County