Donkey & Goat is celebrated for being amongst a handful of Pioneers in the Natural Wine community because in 2004 they were unique for their ecological principles driving decisions in both the vineyard and the cellar and ten years later for promoting transparency, being one of the first to list ingredients on their label. Founding winemakers Jared Brandt & Tracey Rogers spent a year with the inimi
table Eric Texier in 2002 studying the art of crafting natural wines in the Rhone Valley before co-founding Donkey & Goat in 2004 in San Francisco. Rogers also co-founded Crushpad, at 1890 Bryant Street, which provided Donkey & Goat a launchpad with absolute winemaking control (no Custom Crush for D&G) yet without investors who might have driven a more popular approach to winemaking (chasing Parker scores was at odds with making food friendly, high acid, low ABV natural wines). Over the next seventeen years Donkey & Goat was among the first to make & name skin-contact or orange wines (Stone Crusher 2010), sparkling Pétillant-Naturel Wines (Lily’s Pet Nat 2011), and chillable red wines (Twinkle 2015). In 2006, with distribution around the US and a growing mailing list, Donkey & Goat moved to 2323-B 4th Street in Berkeley where they built out the first winery facility that is now home to Maître de Chai Wine. Five years later in March of 2011, with a newborn Lily Brandt, Rogers embarked upon the extensive build out for the current Winery & Tasting Room at 1340 5th Street which opened in July of 2011. Today the Berkeley Wine Block includes three additional wineries that Rogers helped bring to the block: Broc Cellars (2013), Hammerling Wines (2018) and Vinca Minor (2019). With the 2021 vintage Rogers began making Donkey & Goat wines on her own and with the 2022 vintage she is joined by her Director of Winemaking Connor Bockman. Plus, every vintage includes a rotating and critical supporting cast of passionate creators during harvest. Rogers’ innovation and drive continues and most recently with initiating a dialog around the future of crafting delicious natural wines in the face of increasing climate impact. With the 2021 vintage, her first solo, Donkey & Goat lost ten wines to existential level climate impact but Rogers also created fifteen never made before wines after a call for help in the wine community resulted in numerous offers to jump into vineyards not planned. The 2022 vintage lost four wines to climate and Rogers and Bockman made four new wines that will be released in 2023 and beyond. Anyone who thinks they know Donkey & Goat Wines but hasnt’ tasted this decade must revisit. Together, Tracey and Connor are guiding the wines in new directions while taking great care to ensure the wines are as delicious on your table as they are in the cellar.
