OUR WINEMAKER
GREG BJORNSTAD
Beginning in the Spring of 2007 Greg Bjornstad joins the Copeland Creek Vineyards team as Winemaker. Greg Bjornstad studied Agronomy with a Foreign Service emphasis at Colorado State University preparing him for a career in international development. He first discovered fine wine in the Caribbean and his interest in wine continued while living in and around New York City. His wanderlust culminated in his moving cross-country to Davis, California, where he began his graduate studies in Viticulture in 1989.
At Davis, Greg was interested in both vines and wines, taking many enology courses in addition to his curriculum in viticulture. In 1990, he received a Wine Spectator Scholarship and worked the harvest at Newton Vineyards in St. Helena. In 1991, Greg was selected for the coveted Chateau Lafite Rothschild internship. In France, Greg was able to divide his time evenly between vineyard and winery and learn traditional Bordelaise methods. It was during his experience at Lafite that he observed that great wine is inextricably linked to the vineyard.
Once home, Greg joined Joseph Phelps Vineyards as their Viticulturist. After four years at Phelps he was prepared for more responsibility and returned to Newton as their Vineyard Manager. In 1996, Greg lent his skills to a “start up opportunity” beyond the known viticultural world on the Sonoma Coast. Greg joined Flowers Vineyard and Winery as Vineyard Manager and Assistant Winemaker. There the “Burgundy bug” bit him hard and it was there that Greg first “closed the loop” as he tended both vines and wines from grape to bottle. As the backbone of the Flowers team, Greg shared in the top award from Wine & Spirits magazine as “Artisan Winery of the Year” for an unprecedented two years in a row.
In 1999, his passion, coupled with solid experience, prepared Greg to start his own international business focused on vineyard consulting and winemaking, as well as starting his own brand, Bjornstad Cellars. Greg works with growers and wineries in California, Russia, South Africa and Australia to establish new, ultra premium vineyards as well as assist them in optimizing their existing vineyard’s potential to produce extraordinary wine.
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