As the son and grandson of West Point officers, Brice’s career path was clear. He entered the Air Force Academy with the third class admitted and graduated with an engineering degree in 1961. Pilot training followed in 1962 with various flying missions around the globe. During a temporary tour in Europe in 1963, Brice discovered wine, and his life-long interest in that subject took root. After a two-year assignment to the Republic of Vietnam as a fighter pilot, Brice returned to the States in 1966 to find the American premium-wine industry just beginning to develop. In 1970 he resigned his Air Force commission and entered Harvard Business School to gain the expertise and knowledge needed to form his own vineyard and winery enterprise.
A handshake on the corner of 57th & Lexington in New York secured financing for the fledgling Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards. But in 1973, all the “desirable” vineyard acreage-flat land in the Napa Valley and in the warmer growing regions of Sonoma was nearly impossible to find. Not to be deterred, he ultimately purchased several parcels in the cooler climate region of what is now known as the Russian River Valley appellation. With the precision of an engineer, the focus of a fighter pilot, and a vision that belied his youth, Brice surrounded himself with insightful employees and consultants, and together they created a vineyard and winery dedicated exclusively to Chardonnay. After a successful 25-year run, most of the investors wanted to cash out so Brice struck a deal with Brown-Forman. The sale of Sonoma-Cutrer was finalized in April of 1999 but Brice’s involvement with wine was hardly over.
In June of the same year, after nearly five years of discussion, Don and Marcia Hallberg finally agreed to sell their spectacular 115-acre apple orchard near Sebastopol. For the second time in 26 years, a handshake sealed the deal. The Emeritus Vineyards home ranch is located in the heart of the Russian River Valley with soils and climate ideal for Pinot Noir grapes. Again, Brice surrounded himself with insightful, experienced and forward thinking partners—many of whom built the previous enterprise—The Emeritus Team. With Brice’s passion to create an iconic Pinot Noir as fresh as it was for Chardonnay 35 years ago, the Emeritus project bodes well for lovers of this most challenging of all wines.
