Summer Release Details + Wine News Roundup

The Bruliam Wines 2026 Summer Release opens on Memorial Day, May 25, 2026.

but let’s begin in the Vineyard

“BB” sized fruit alongside the final outstretched anthers of bloom

The gallop to harvest continues. April was cooler, greyer, and wetter than anticipated. This extended bloom, so I’m seeing the last gasps of flowering alongside “BB” sized berries. April showers and mild sunshine made for vigorous canopies, which still appear further along than expected for early May.

The spiraling green tendrils look particularly majestic against blue skies. In contrast, May is opening with significant warmth. I hopeful this week’s warming trend pushes my tomatoes ahead, too.

Will these cherry tomatoes beat the “Early Girls” to veraison? The race is on!

And Here’s What’s Buzzing in Industry News.

April showers bring May flowers (& attract honeybees)

The Battle for Gen Z Grows Contentious

I’m particularly attuned to this evolving story, since my kids land in the Gen Z bucket. Obviously, the party line is more nuanced than “Gen Z isn’t drinking.” And parsing this complexity brings the drama, exposing rifts between the dinosaurs (i.e. entrenched industry professionals) and the Gen Z’ers themselves. I particularly enjoyed reading Caroline Lamb’s pointed response to Wine Spectator’s column titled “Are We Winning the Wine War (Gen) Z?” Allison Napjus, a 20+ year veteran of Wine Spectator, argues we (i.e. wine professionals) make wine complicated, elitist, snobby, and intimidating. So perhaps we (i.e. the wine industry) ought to dumb it down so the kids can understand.  This conceit ruffed some Gen Z feathers. Lamb counters that the assumption that Gen Z is too dumb, disengaged, inattentive, and distracted to “understand” wine is more condescending and outrageous than the specter of “elitism” we’re fighting. She concludes her open letter with a lovely call to action:

“In a world that has demanded constant optimization and digital connection for our entire lives, we are coming to wine for exactly what it uniquely offers: the chance for discovery, connection, and something tangible and deeply human that no algorithm can replicate.”

Bravo, Caroline

She’s Not Alone in Her Convictions

The Washington Times wonders about “the loneliness behind Gen Z’s sobriety.” Like Lamb, columnist Rick Berman posits that sharing wine deepens interpersonal connections while offering an antidote to digital doomscrolling. Sharing wine at “bars, restaurants, patios, happy hours, concerts, parties, dinners with friends and, yes, even pickleball” makes life ever more festive and sweet.

Speaking of Sweet

Back in December, wine writer and SJSU professor Deborah Parker Wong alerted us that Gen Z digs sweet wine. I found this awfully good timing given the abundance of decadent desserts cheese consumed during the holidays. In a thinly veiled hurrah for my own dessert viognier, I shouted out her news on Instagram. Starting with sweet seems fair. Think back, my dinosaur comrades to your own early experiences with sweetish wines like Mateus or Blue Nun. I often joke that no wine newbie starts with Domaine Raveneau Chablis. Heck no, start with something more fruit forward, less acidic, and yes, possibly sweet. Then work your palate up to a lively, energetic Sonoma Coast chardonnay or steely Chablis. Whelp, seems I too am guilty of condescending to Gen Z, unaware my standard chardonnay joke has worn thin (or perhaps dry?). Apparently, 26 year old Londoner Emily Parker digs Chablis. Right on! If you need a smile, check out Decanter’s Gen Z Wine Challenge, inviting 18-29 year olds “to give their honest opinion about a wine they've splashed out on – and if it was worth the cash.”

So Which Wine Category is Thriving?

Answer: RTD’s. For the uninitiated, RTD stands for “ready to drink,” and folks are excited about canned and boxed ready-to-drink wine cocktails. Apparently, the category grew 30% last year. Plus, I have it on good authority that Kendall Jackson is launching a canned wine RTD soon (you heard it here first, folks). Would you try an RTD? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

start here instead

Just add equal parts bougie-flavored lemonade & rose of PN- easy as pie

Leave it to the Gen Z hospitality team at Grand Cru to simplify my 15 ingredient rose cocktail down to just two. Kaela smartly combines equal parts elderberry rose lemonade with my rose of pinot noir. Pour over ice. Decorate with a mint sprig or edible flower. It’s surprisingly slurp-able.

Just don’t lose your summer rose vibe.

Pinkalicious Vibes

cringe-y

Whatever you do, do NOT google “stock images Gen Z wine party.” The AI generated slop is just too much. And yet, I recently found myself entangled in an AI-adjacent caper with a happy ending. A lovely, fun, wine loving couple visited the tasting room after reading about Bruliam in a blog. While the husband couldn’t remember the name of the blog, he offered enough clues that I could locate the post with two google clicks. Oddly, I’ve never hosted this wine/lifestyle blogger for a tasting. I didn’t recognize any of her contributing writers either. This felt weird.

Canva AI generated this picture of “20-somethings enjoying a wine party.”

Had AI spit out Bruliam Wines in a ChatGPT search for Healdsburg boutique winery female winemaker? Sadly no. In the query, “I am planning to visit Sonoma wine country in Healdsburg. Can you suggest some boutique wineries with good reviews and a female winemaker?” I failed to make the cut. When I honed the list specifying “best Pinot-focused female winemakers” I landed seventh out of 7 suggestions. Was this a sycophantic sympathy nod from a bot? Perhaps so. Had aforesaid blogger found me here? Unclear. Nonetheless, I will forgive the blog’s misspelling of my winery (“Brulium”) if it generates traffic and brings more great people to the tasting room. Now that ChatGPT is a proxy travel agent that generates blog posts in seconds, be sure to vet your sources. Unless, of course, that search leads you to Bruliam Wines.

Summer Release: A Celebration of Me

By now, everyone knows the 2023 vintage was one for the ages: a cool, extended growing season marked by juicy acidity and cellar worthy texture. Only now are these wines starting to relax their springy tension. James Sucking recently reviewed my 2023’s proferring top scores. Standouts include 94 points for both the 2023 Ferrington PN and the 2023 Heintz chardonnay, followed by a pair of 93’s for the ’23 Torrey Hill and Sangiacomo. The 2023’s are really singing. I plan to re-offer them in our summer release.  As always, if you don’t see the wine you’re craving most, just ask. I try to fulfill as many wishes as possible.