If there's one unassailable tagline for 2009, it's What a year! However you choose to spin that sentiment, there's no denying it's apropos. As we wind down the commerce aspect of this calendar year, we are taking stock of all of the challenges and rewards 2009 has brought our way. The net result: we're still here – and as far as we can tell, so are you! That itself is cause for celebration.



The year 2010 will mark our thirtieth anniversary in the Napa Valley and our fifteenth crush. As we look forward to these milestones, we want to thank each and every one of you for your fantastic support of what we still think of as our little endeavor. Your enjoyment of our wines, the stories you share with us, the ambassadorial work you do on our behalf, and your unwavering enthusiasm for all things Brown Estate – these gifts mean more to us than we can convey.

Robert Louis Stevenson famously referred to wine as poetry in a bottle. We think wine may be the closest thing there is to time in a bottle. Because the fruits of our labor literally bear a time stamp in the form of vintage dates, our wines are for us like time capsules reminding us of where we've been and where we aspire to go.

As such, when you pop the cork on a bottle of Brown, you unleash a little bit of our collective heart and soul. And that vintage date? It's the equivalent of We were here. Every bottle of wine we produce is a testament to our love for and dedication to this wondrous business that is our livelihood. And we are grateful for the opportunity to share it all with you.

Happy holidays, and all the best for a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2010!