Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/766392
WINEMAKER INTERVIEW 104 WINES&VINES January 2017 J ared and Tracey Brandt of Donkey & Goat winery in Berkeley, Calif., were working for tech companies in the San Francisco Bay Area when they decided to take a one-year sabbatical in 2001. They loved wine, so rather than simply travel for a year, they went to France to study winemaking under Eric Texier, a respected wine- maker in the Rhône Valley and Mâconnais regions who was committed to "natural" viticulture and winemaking. When they returned to the Bay Area, the Brandts found new jobs, but the lure of wine stayed with them. In 2003 they made some wine of their own, but they hadn't yet secured a winery bond from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, and the wine was never released. Donkey & Goat was officially founded in 2004, the same year that Tracey Brandt helped start Crushpad, the former do-it- yourself winemaking facility in San Francisco, Calif. At Donkey & Goat the Brandts followed Texier's example and looked for growers who were following environmen- tally responsible practices. Like Texier, they also eschewed commercial yeasts and used minimal sulfur dioxide. Now based in Berkeley, the Brandts work with California vineyards in Mendocino County, the Sierra Foothills and Napa Valley and produce 6,000 cases of wine with an aver- age bottle price of $30. Their portfolio ranges from skin- fermented whites to pétillant naturels to wines that might be considered more "conventional," such as Napa Valley Chardonnay and Anderson Valley Pinot Noir (although the latter does use some whole-cluster fermentation). The Brandts are so passionate about their practices that their website even includes a manifesto outlining their approach (no fermentation in plastic bins, for example, and bottling without fining, filtering or cold stabilization). A CONVERSATION WITH Jared Brandt Half of husband-and-wife team Donkey & Goat discusses skin-contact whites and whole-cluster reds By Laurie Daniel ALL PHOTOS: ERIK CASTRO Jared and Tracey Brandt produce about 6,000 cases of wine in Berkeley, Calif.