She Farmed One of California’s Most Famous Vineyards. Now Brenae Royal Is Building a Wine Brand of Her Own, Ep 133

Brenae Royal didn’t dream of a career in wine. Growing up in California’s Central Valley, agriculture was her world, from her grandmother’s vegetable and flower garden to Future Farmers of America and eventually studying crops and horticulture at Chico State University. Her wine epiphany was a popular red blend, one that helped her realize there was another way to use her agricultural background. “Oh wait, wait, wait, wait. I can farm this. I can farm this. I've never been on a vineyard, but please hire me,” she says.

That enthusiasm helped Brenae land an internship with Gallo and launched a career that eventually put her in charge of the historic Monte Rosso Vineyard in Sonoma’s Moon Mountain District. Brenae also talks candidly about being a young Black woman in agriculture and how being “the only” became a source of strength. “I never really used that to shy away. It was like well I'm in the room for something so you're gonna hear what I have to say,” she says.

Today Brenae is putting that experience into her own wine label, Violet’s Paradise. What she originally envisioned as a one-time collection has grown into six wines, including five Monte Rosso Vineyard wines and a sparkling wine that helps support scholarships. She also explains why she doesn’t call herself a winemaker even though her farming decisions shape what ends up in the bottle.

Brenae’s ambitions go well beyond her own bottles. Through the Violet’s Paradise agriculture scholarship, she hopes to help more young people build careers in agriculture, while proceeds from her sparkling wine also benefit The Veraison Project. We also dig into how changing weather is reshaping vineyard management and why she sees farming as far more than growing grapes.