The Artistic Side of Winemaking

Greg Bruni's decision to leave behind his native California and come to Llano Estacado Winery as Vice President of Winemaking in 1993 was perhaps the most lucid of his professional life. For, despite all that he had to leave behind -- a well established reputation, a winegrowing climate which he understood intimately, and, of course, not a few friends and family -- the upstart winery offered him all that he had come to value in his twenty-year winemaking career.

"When I first visited Llano Estacado Winery," said Bruni, "I found everything that had first inspired me to fall in love with winemaking: challenge, enthusiasm, and an industry, much like California in the '70's, just bursting with potential. But the phenomenal talent of the people in charge of Llano Estacado was what made this such an irresistible opportunity for me. They wanted me for my winemaking knowledge -- and were happy to spare me the running of the business and just leave me to be as creative as possible. That allowed me to be, for the first time in my career, focused exclusively on what I loved: the artistic side of winemaking."

Greg represents the third generation of his family to work in the wine industry. His family founded the famed San Martin Winery where Greg began working in the cellar, vineyards and tasting room at the age of twelve. The backbreaking work of the cellar did not immediately appeal to Greg. In fact, upon graduation from high school Greg had no plans to enter the family business. What changed his mind was the onset of the premium wine boom in California; a moment in the history of the industry which led to great creative energies in the vineyards and winery. This drew Greg back to wine and off to U.C. Davis where he obtained a B.S. degree in enology.

Greg immediately returned to San Martin Winery as Assistant Winemaker under Ed Friedrich. A few years later, wanting to strike out on his own, he went to work as Winemaker under the wing of Terrance Clancy, who was reviving Bandiera Winery in Sonoma County. In 1984, Greg took the post of Winemaker/General Manager at Aciero Winery in Paso Robles, where he managed all winemaking operations. In 1989, Greg joined Byington Winery in Santa Cruz, California. At Byington he was responsible for designing an entirely new state-or-the-art facility, equipping it, developing its vineyards and grape-buying program, and making the wine. His Byington wines garnered extensive recognition in the U.S. and internationally, causing his star to rise in wine circles.

Greg's arrival at Llano Estacado in 1993 marked a turning point for the winemaker and the winery. Working with the extraordinary team at Llano, Greg has vastly improved the quality of the wines, instilled a new sense of urgency in the winery's grower team, and himself become a major figure in the Texas wine industry. In 1997 Greg oversaw the expansion of the Llano Estacado facilities, a major step which Greg knows will allow him to further improve the quality and consistency of the wines.

While not in the cellar or surveying the vineyards on the Texas High Plains, Greg enjoys growing vegetables in his home garden where all the ingredients are grown for his culinary specialty: authentic Italian cuisine. He lives in Lubbock with his wife Sharendale.