About the winery
David Bruce Winery is a mountain winery on Bear Creek Road above Los Gatos, founded by Dr. David Bruce, a dermatologist2. Drawn by the Santa Cruz Mountains wines of Martin Ray, he bought 40 acres in 1961, cleared the land, built a house and a small winery and planted 25 acres of terraced vines; the winery was bonded in 1964, its 1998 page on Web Winery said4. The winery says its vision "from day one has been to make the greatest Pinot Noir"2.
The early wines were experiments. In the 1960s Bruce made a great deal of Zinfandel, including White Zinfandels in 1967, 1968 and 1971, well before blush wine became common; from 1969 to 1971 he tried late-harvest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and in the 1970s he made wine from vineyards all over California4. By 1998 the focus had narrowed to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and the winery made about 20,000 cases a year4. Tony Craig, who started there as a cellar hand in 1991 and became its winemaker, later moved to Savannah-Chanelle Vineyards3.
Dr. Bruce retired from medicine in 19852 and died on April 28, 2021, just short of his 90th birthday3. The winery marked its 60th year in 20242,3. It says Jeannette Bruce, whom he married in 1985, remains an integral part of it2.
Known for
- Pinot Noir
- Chardonnay
- Santa Cruz Mountains estate wines
Nearby in Santa Cruz Mountains
- Burrell School Vineyards & Winery Los GatosOpen
- Byington Vineyard & Winery Los GatosOpen
- Silver Mountain Vineyards Los GatosOpen
- Bear Creek Vineyard Company Los GatosNot confirmed
