Brounstein: indomitable vintner, artist, benefactor

By John Intardonato, STAFF WRITER, St. Helena Star
Thursday, April 6, 2006

Vintner and owner of Diamond Creek Winery, Al Brounstein, who recently turned 86 and has been battling Parkinson's disease for 20 years, has not lost his quick wit, his quick eye, or his quick smile.

An icon of the Napa Valley, and the man who arguably invented the California version of "terroir," he has slowed, a bit, but only because of a hip fracture several months ago.

While other successful men half his age are starting to think of cruises and country club retirement, Brounstein, from his wheel chair, is still designing waterfalls, pruning his gardens, and meeting with his wine maker, Phil Steinschriber, in continuing to fine-tune his classic Cabernet.

And, for the past six years, undaunted by his decapitating illness, his accident, and duties, he is painting stunning, Jackson Pollock-inspired art. Many of his works, in turn, are sold and the proceeds given to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation.


Art show in the works

Brounstein, a wine pioneer, who rediscovered the "bottled poetry" of Diamond Mountain, is having an exhibit of his art at the Calistoga Bank of America this summer. He plans to have 25 to 30 paintings displayed, and hopes they will earn funds for Parkinson's research.

Only last summer, this indomitable man and his indomitable wife and his number one fan, Boots, held a banquet to raise funds for the Foundation. Along with entertaining the 50 guests, he presented a painting to each at the event.

"Al made a small painting for each person at the banquet," Boots told the Star. "He made 50 paintings, and they were all different. And he signed each one."

According to Boots, her husband began to paint before he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

Artistically inclined

"In our family, Al is definitely the artistic one," she said. "I commissioned our good friend, Earl Thollander, to do some paintings for our winery. He would bring in the sketches, and Al would look at them and say, 'you know Earl, I think I'd take this tree and move it over here, and move this over there, and so on. Earl admired Al's artistic eye, and the next thing you know, Al was painting. He took watercolor classes, and was doing watercolor before he got Parkinson's. He did very well with that, and then started with photography."

Boots said after Al developed Parkinson's, he gave up painting. "When his tremor became really bad, he just stopped painting and he wouldn't paint again for a long time."

She added: "We have a friend who also has Parkinson's, and who was working with an art teacher. He thought it would be good for Al, and so I hired an art teacher and convinced Al that he should try his art again. I told him there were other styles of artistic expression, besides pictorials. I told him he could still be creative, so he should just do it.

"I got him a whole bunch of paint, and we gave him canvases, and he started to paint again. He's been doing it now for five or six years. He sits at this table and paints. Sometimes when it's nice he paints outside."

Boots said they got the idea of using his art to help the Parkinson's Foundation when visitors would come by and ask if they could buy a painting. "I thought, that's neat, but had no idea what they could be worth; so I told them if they would contribute to the Parkinson's Foundation they could buy a painting. We never know what to charge, so I say anything you can donate would be greatly appreciated," Boots said.

Boots said her husband's art appeared on their 2002 labels, to commemorate the winery's 30th anniversary. "When we decided to put them on our bottles, Al made fun of us. It was just a one-year thing, and as an honor to Al. It should make the 2002 a collector's item. We'll be going back to our old labels for 2003."

Compares art to Pollock's

Al, content to let Boots tell his story, did have one exception. In comparing him to artist Jackson Pollock, she said her husband studies the canvas, decides what he wants, and starts painting. "Al sees his vision, and goes from beginning to end. It's done. He knows what he wants. In reading about Pollock, I understand he keeps going back to the painting and adding and adding."

Objecting, Al said, modestly, "Well, generally yes, that's true. But there are times when I've held things for a week or more, and I have had to go back to it, and even redo it."

Nodding, Boots said: "Sometimes, he'll just stare at the canvas for 30 or 40 minutes and not do anything. Just stare at the canvas, until he sees his vision. He's very quick, and knows what he wants to do."

For the upcoming Auction Napa Valley, the Brounsteins will be sharing one of Al's visions in a rare combination of art and wine. They are donating a salamanzar, a 9-liter bottle of 1996 Diamond Creek, Lake Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

Painting on the bottle

This classic wine will be contained in a bottle decorated in cold-cloisonne. It will be a reproduction of one of Al's paintings, which is being recreated in cloisonne by Santa Rosa artist Terri Haggerty. Brounstein's original signed painting will also be included in the bid.

Brounstein, whose cult Cabernet blends are among the highest-priced and sought-after wines in the Napa Valley, helped bring fame back to Diamond Mountain. These Calistoga vineyard sites were made famous by Robert Lewis Stevenson and his book, "Silverado Squatters," where he coined the phrase, "and the wine is bottled poetry."

Boots said they bought the property in 1967, and planted the next year. Their first commercial wine was in 1972.

"When we came to Diamond Mountain, there weren't any plantings up here, but Al still knew this was the place. He wasn't even sure how much he could plant. He just knew this was it. It was all raw land. Al would drive the tractor. He'd go over there by Diamond Creek, and he'd be covered in white dust. Then he'd go on the other side of the creek, by Red Rock Terrace and he'd be covered in red dust."

No production for 6 years

She said Gravely Meadow is very shallow, and they saw no production it for almost six years. They actually thought of pulling the vines out. "Finally, in 1974 we started to get production," Boots said.

Al added: "We were warned against this area. We were warned that we should stay away from Calistoga, and we should only plant on the valley floor."

Nodding, Boots added: "Al always wanted a hillside vineyard, he did not want the valley floor. Nobody ever heard of terroir then. He was a maverick who believed in himself and had a vision of what he wanted, and nobody was going to discourage him."

Brounstein was born in Saskatchewan, Canada. His family moved to Minnesota where he was raised. He likes to say he urged his parents to move, because he thought the girls were prettier over the border.

Sought land in the '60s

A graduate of the University of Minnesota, he reportedly moved to California in pursuit of one of those Minnesota beauties. He opened a very successful wholesale pharmaceutical firm, but by the 1960s, with his interest in wine evolving, he sought out vineyard land in the Napa Valley. Having traveled to France, and being fluent in the language, he was determined to create wine in the French style.

A licensed pilot himself, he first smuggled vine cuttings from two premier cru wineries in Bordeaux into Mexico, and then flew them into the United States. He still will not divulge which Bordeaux properties they are.

His visions go beyond business, wine, and art, and he takes the same thorough care with his gardens. Every one of the waterfalls has been designed by Brounstein, and he is designing his tenth one right now. He broke his hip, and has a hard time standing, so he's in a wheelchair, but he moves next to his flowers and carefully prunes them. Boots said he is still involved in the office, and still writes letters.

Does things his way

"He still has his vision, and works to perfect his wine," she added with a smile. "A big wine distributor once sent us a letter saying, 'Al, you have a lot of nerve to expect us to provide shelf space for three different wines, and from a winery with only 20 acres. You should blend it all together. Other people used to ask us how come we don't have Chardonnay? Al told them 'we're just a Cabernet winery.' He would listen to people, but he had to do it his way."

Al smiled. "Since we started making Cabernet, I was shocked to find out recently how many competitors we now have."

There are, presently, at least nine wineries on Diamond Mountain, and almost 400 in the Napa Valley.

Considering the prices people are willing to pay for his wines, Brounstein and his winery still do not have to worry about the competition. And when it comes to mettle, most people will never come close.