Where are they now?

Doug Tunnell is making progress on convincing the world that good wine can be made from grapes grown haphazardly among a weedy mess of clover, blackberries and yarrow. On his biggest sales day of the year, Memorial Day, Tunnell's Brick House Vineyards sold twice as much wine this year as it did in 2007. "We have a little bit of chardonnay left - about 90 cases remaining out of the total 4,100," Tunnell says.

Tunnell received lots of press earlier this year for his 2006 varietals, made from grapes that are biodynamically farmed. Like organic farming, biodynamics requires growers to adhere to a strict set of rules, and it often involves somewhat witchy practices such as burying manure-filled cowhorns beneath the vines. While scientific studies haven't yet quantified the method's claims, a growing number of grape growers around the world are embracing biodynamics, insisting that it results in better-tasting wine.

Wine and Spirits Magazine, Seattle Monthly, and The Wine Advocate gave high marks to Brick House Wines this year. "It's sort of shocking to me," says Tunnell, who bought his vineyard as a place to eventually retire with his wife. Instead of taking it easy, he has added another 1.37 acres of pinot noir vines to his operation, and is experimenting with new varietals including gamay noir, a clone that's not widely available in the U.S. - Maggie Overfelt

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