Bruno & George Winery November 2010 Dockline Issue

        Hey y'all! This month we are featuring the Bruno & George Winery, but first I want to congratulate the winners of the Montgomery Wine and Food Festival wine tasting competition. Tied for first place were Los Pinos Ranch/ Pinky Tuscandero and Bruno & George/ Cardinal Cranberry, second place went to Los Pinos Ranch/ Cabernet Sauvignou Reserve and in third place was Chisholm Trail/ Ghost Rider. Good job guys and a great big Texas thanks to all who voted. Now back to business, to tell the story of Bruno & George, we must start with an American story.....
        It begins in 1902 in a house on Garibaldi Street in Salaparuta, Sicily when Rocco Bruno kissed his wife Rosa goodbye and took his two young sons (14 year old Joseph and 12 year old Salvatore), boarded a ship in Palermo, and sailed toward a dream in America. Arriving in New Orleans they were met by relatives from New Jersey and found work in the Pennsylvania coalmines and the Kansas City Southern & Rock Island Railroad. Eventually their father Rocco returned home to retrieve the rest of the family but upon arrival discovered that his wife could not be persuaded to leave Sicily, so he never returned to America.

The brothers made their way south to Louisiana and worked in the sawmills, as many immigrants did, until they heard of the wonderful job opportunities in the newly developed oil fields and refineries of Texas. Young Salvatore found work with The Texas Company in Port Arthur and his older brother Joseph with The Gulf Oil Corporation and their lives in Texas were established. Salvatore soon met and married fellow immigrant Mary Mondelo and added 3 sons and 6 daughters to the union. He worked hard in his new country and became an American citizen in 1944. Throughout his life his great passions were family and the traditions of making the raisin wine he brought from Sicily. He always had wine ready for the holidays to share with family and friends and it was a great favorite in the Italian community. He passed his winemaking skills to his son Nick and Joe before his death in 1963. In 1996 the torch was passed to his grandson Shawn Bruno. Shawn learned, along with his wife Misha, how to make the family wine from his uncles, Joe and Nick. After a couple of years of making wine they decided to turn this tradition into a business. After inquiring with the BATF and TABC about permits Shawn discovered the, due to an old statue on the books in Texas, it was illegal to make and market wine made from dried fruit or raisins. Not being one to quit, Shawn set out to change the laws in the state. With the help of his brother, Rocky, they began their lobbying efforts. They succeeded in 1999 when the 76th

Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 1676 which removed dried grapes, dried fruit or dried berries from the list of prohibited items in Section 101.65 of the Alcoholic Beverage Code and Governor George W. Bush signed it into law. Shawn and Misha then began building their boutique winery in early 2000 in historic Sour Lake, Texas. The first wines were produced and sold in the summer of 2001.
        Their current wine list includes many award winning wines, Cardinal Cranberry, Yellow Jacket Raspberry, White Orchard Pear, Candlelight Strawberry, "Holiday" Blueberry, Signature Peach, Arapaho Blackberry, and "Other than Standard" Raisin complete their repertoire.
        As always, you'll be able to taste wine from Shawn and Misha's outstanding Bruno & George Winery along with other Texas wineries at The Rancher's Daughter, where we represent over 50 Texas wineries and well over 200 varietals. We hope that you enjoy this column and, if you have any suggestions, we welcome them. Y'all come see us at The Rancher's Daughter, "Texas' Only Texas-Only Wine Shop".
        Harry and Rendy Kerr, native Texans and Montgomery residents, can be reached at 202B McCown Street, Montgomery, Texas 77356 (936) 449-4100.