Brandlin Estate traces its roots to the 1870s, when the Brandlin family emigrated from Switzerland and settled on the steep, rocky slopes of Mount Veeder, where they farmed orchard fruit and operated the local grain store and stagecoach.

In 1926, Henry Brandlin planted the estate’s first vines, including old-vine Zinfandel that remains part of the vineyard story today. The estate was acquired in 1998 by the Schmidheiny family, also Swiss and multigenerational winegrowers, and is now part of Two Estates Wine Collective alongside Cuvaison.

Today, Brandlin centers on a historic 49-acre Mount Veeder vineyard, planted primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux varieties, with elevations around 900–1,250 feet and 120 acres of surrounding native woodland preserved in its natural state.

Brandlin’s wines are built around the power and complexity of mountain-grown fruit from Mount Veeder, where high elevation, decomposed granite soils, cooling influence from San Pablo Bay, low yields, and a long growing season produce small, concentrated clusters and berries.

The estate describes its approach as a combination of tradition, innovation, and artistry: grapes are hand-picked, hand-sorted, destemmed, gravity-fed into small fermentation vats, and vinified lot by lot using techniques such as cold soaking, extended maceration, aerative pump-overs, and patient aging in French oak.

Stylistically, the goal is vineyard-driven wines that show structure, intensity, depth, and elegance rather than generic Napa richness, with the team using more than 25 small-lot fermentations each vintage to preserve the character of Brandlin’s many blocks, clones, and varieties.

Brandlin is led by Daniel Zepponi, President/CEO of Two Estates Wine Collective, who frames the estate’s work as a continuation of the Brandlin family’s tradition, integrity, and mountain-wine legacy.

Steve Rogstad, who has guided Brandlin’s winemaking since its debut 2003 vintage and has worked with Cuvaison since 2002, now serves as Director of Winemaking, overseeing stylistic direction across Two Estates.

Rebecca George brings more than 15 years of international winemaking experience and was promoted to Brandlin Estate Winemaker in 2024 after joining as associate winemaker in 2021; she works with Rogstad to craft a focused portfolio from the estate vineyard.

Vineyard farming is guided by viticulturist Kelly Maher, whose background includes Larkmead, Dunn Vineyards, and Hourglass, and whose work emphasizes block-by-block quality and character.