Vinum Cellars is a small California winery known for producing wines of the highest quality. It is a collaboration of winemakers Richard Bruno and Chris Condos, who first became friends while they were students at UC Davis. After graduation, Chris went to work for Pine Ridge as enologist and Richard went to Bonny Doon as their distiller, and they later joined forces to create Vinum. The grapes are sourced from sustainable growers from premium coastal and cool climate growing areas within California. The white wines are barrel fermented and aged on the lees. With the red wines, varietal fruit profiles are enhanced through the use of small open-top fermentors, hand punch downs, extended maceration before pressing and aging in older French oak. Vinum Cellars is committed to experimenting and learning new winemaking methods while preserving an old world approach.

Producer

Our basic winemaking philosophy is to work with great grape growers to develop the best fruit in the vineyard. We pick the grapes at optimal ripeness and gently process the fruit. We are very experimental with yeast strains and use different cultures for each variety. Our whites are barrel fermented slowly and aged Sur Lies in small French Oak barrels. With our reds, skin contact is optimized by the use of small open top fermentors, hand punch downs and extended maceration before pressing. Our belief in the use of older French Oak barrels allows the varietal fruit of our wines to be expressed. We are committed to experimenting and learning new winemaking methods while preserving an old world approach.