Stuart, a fifth generation Sacramento Valley California farmer and Dolores from the Sierra
Nevada studied agriculture at Chico State University. They, with the help of neighbors and
friends, planted their first acre of grapes in 1993 on land purchased fifty years earlier by
Dolores’ grandparents.
Brice Station Vineyards finds its name from the Brice Station stagecoach stop, where
passengers and freight from the coast were brought to the mountains. At an elevation of 3280
feet, the vineyard is the highest in California’s goldrush region. The characteristic late bud
break of Bordeaux varieties helps to avoid spring frost damage. The vineyard acreage was
increased in 1996, and the additional yields were sold locally and to Napa Valley winemakers.
In 2001, after winning homemade wine competitions, they opened a tasting room in an
abandoned fallout shelter built during the Cuban missile crisis by Dolores’ father, Paul Quyle.
Customers enjoy the cozy shelter in winter, and the flower gardens and patio spring through
fall.
Twelve years ago the business expanded to include summer music concerts, outdoor
Shakespeare productions, weddings, and local fundraising events.
Both Stuart and Dolores believe in the positive results gained by travel. They have hosted over
100 young adults on the farm, starting in 1989 with a Danish exchange student, and continue
to host students, called Wwoofers, through the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms
program.