 |
|
Fred Brander
C. Frederic "Fred"
Brander, owner and winemaker, was born in Buenos Aires,
Argentina. At a young age he moved with his family and
settled in Santa Barbara, California. Fred graduated
from Harvey Mudd College with a degree in Chemistry,
and then went on to pursue studies in Enology at UC
Davis. Fred started his career in the wine business
by working for a Santa Barbara wine merchant, and later
went to work in the wholesale business. While attending
college, he started his own small wine import company,
bringing in wines from France and his native Argentina.
Wishing to make his own
wines, and with a fondness for Santa Barbara, Fred and
his family established The Brander Vineyard in the Santa
Ynez Valley in 1975, where he quickly developed a reputation
for making outstanding Sauvignon Blanc. Fred's passion
for this varietal has committed him to be California's
top producer of Sauvignon. With over 30 vintages "in
the bottle," he is a pioneer of the Santa Barbara
wine country.
Contact
Fred |
|
Kathy Forner
Kathy Forner, our Office
Manager, joined the Brander Vineyard family in 1987.
Starting part time in the Tasting Room when her children
were young, she developed a passion for fine wine. With
her background in business and banking, she quickly
found her way into the office to take over the bookkeeping,
administrative duties, and our Vintage Clubs.
Contact
Kathy |
|
Julie Hayek
Julie Hayek comes to the Brander Vineyard with 13 years
of management experience in the hospitality industry.
Julie worked at the Santa Barbara Yacht Club for six
years starting out as the Food & Beverage Manager/Catering
Manager, was then later promoted to General Manager.
She then branched out to further her career and worked
for Robert Half International as a staffing/recruiting
manager in Accounting & Finance for 1.5 years. After
realizing her passion was food & wine, she was happy
to accept the General Manager position at The Little
Town Club located in downtown Santa Barbara, Julie made
that her home for 5.5 years. Julie now resides in the
Santa Ynez Valley and is so happy to be a part of the
Brander team.
Contact Julie |
|
Fabian Bravo
Fabian Bravo, our assistant
winemaker, joined Brander in 2007. He graduated from
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a BS in Electrical Engineering.
Fabian worked in aerospace for a few years and enjoyed
life as an engineer but had a growing interest in winemaking.
With the help a good friend, Fabian found himself working
harvest at Siduri in Santa Rosa. While working at Brander,
Fabian is involved with production, cellar crew management,
bottling and assisting with our private label marketing.
Contact
Fabian |
|
Louise Smith
Louise Smith, our Tasting Room Manager,
joined the Brander Vineyard family in 2005 as a part-time
Tasting Room Associate. Along with her passion for wine,
Louise brought to the Brander Vineyard her extensive
management experience as well as her great sense of
humor. With experience as a family counselor, manager
of her family's telephone answering service, financial
advisor, executive chef and ethics advisor, the one
consistency in Louise's life has been her love of food
and wine and the perfect pairing of both. In her role
at Brander, Louise is involved in training, staffing,
and overseeing the Tasting Room as well as retail sales
and events.
Contact
Louise
|
 |
Bill Burroughs
Bill Burroughs, member
of our Tasting Room Staff, came to The Brander Vineyard
with over 25 years experience of selling wine retail,
buying, traveling and tasting. He retired to the Santa
Ynez Valley when he couldn't get his wife, Lois, to
go back to Manhattan Beach.
Since we are in California
and not New Zealand, we often refer to Bill as the "Santa
Ynez Valley" man rather than the "Marlborough"
man. |
|
|
|
 |
|
