When Owner/Winemaker Kerith Overstreet was small, her dad used to say, “You can be whatever you want after medical school.” So she did. After completing medical school (U. of Rochester), residency, and two fellowships (UCSD), she thought winemaking sounded more fun. So she enrolled at UC Davis to study enology and catapulted into the 2008 harvest.
Starting with a single barrel, Kerith has grown Bruliam Wines to 1,000 cases a year, mostly single vineyard Pinot Noir with a smidge of Rockpile Zinfandel. With delight and an “OK” from the CF-NO (aka the hubby), she added Chardonnay in 2017. Cherishing her grower relationships, Kerith has aligned herself with top vineyards and growers to supply her fruit. Today she cherry-picks her fruit from the top vineyards in Sonoma County, Santa Lucia Highlands, and her own Torrey Hill Vineyard in the Russian River Valley.
Although her deepest passion is for making wine, Kerith manages all of the day-to-day winery operations. She also holds the following titles: Chief of Grower Relations, Head of Marketing, Director of Sales, and Go-to Tank Sanitizer. So yeah, one could say that she basically holds every winery position herself, with the exception of spreadsheets. (The CF-NO handles Excel.)
I have to say her wines are stunning!! After tasting her Chardonnay from one of the most famous vineyards in California, I was sold. I generally don’t care for Chardonnay but hers was a game changer…bright, fresh, lemonhead candies, citrus and stone fruit with just the right touch of minerality of river rock that is beautifully balanced.
The next wine I tried was her “Gap’s Crown” Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noirt..the palate is a plush expanse of black cherry and boysenberry. With smooth tannins and fulfilling richness, the finish is long and flavorful. Another famous vineyard, Gap’s Crown delivers extraordinary depth and Kerith’s ability to bring all the components into perfect harmony…again, a stunning wine. And with our special price, you will not be able to resist it!
Lastly, I was introduced to her “Rockpile” Vineyard Zinfandel. You have to give Kerith a lot of credit to be able to procure grapes that have a long list of clients standing in line to purchase. She’s a special person with enormous talents as a winemaker and as a person! A mouthwatering wine with juiciness you know and love. Black plum and exotic spices co-exist with sandalwood and rich star anise. Crushed French herbs linger in the background, and a mouthful of dark fruit offers terrific length. That trademark Rockpile minerality keeps the wine focused and taut. This is a food-friendly Zin with soft tannins that invite sip after sip after sip.
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