With the recent death of vintner Al Brounstein (see our 2004 interview with Al Brounstein), you can expect things to be a little different at the Diamond Creek Vineyards he left behind. Appellation America’s Alan Goldfarb recently spoke with Phil Steinschriber, Brounstein’s longtime winemaker. (Steinschriber came to Diamond Creek in 1991 and also started Yarden Vineyards in Israel’s Golan Heights in ’83.) When asked what changes were on the horizon, Steinschriber said, “It’s going to be a little more strict,” around the Diamond Mountain property.

What Steinschriber meant by that statement is that the winery will be making different wine.

The new regimen actually started several years ago, while Brounstein – who suffered with Parkinson’s disease for 23 years – was still in charge. However, while Brounstein was a proponent of huge, tannic, long-lived wines, under Steinschriber’s tutelage, the wines from Diamond Creek will still be built for the long haul, but they will also be more accessible in their youth.

Change will not be limited to winemaking. Diamond Creek has four vineyards known as Red Rock Terrace, Volcanic Hill, Gravelly Meadow, and Lake. These vineyards which, in the 1970s, became known for a definitive expression of their individual terroir, are also undergoing replanting.