Amazing Alumnus

Bryan Ulbrich ’91, College of Arts and Sciences

Current life role:  Vintner, Left Foot Charley winery, Traverse City, Mich.

Bryan Ulbrich is determined to put Michigan wines on the nation’s wine map, and he’s doing an awfully good job of it single-handedly. Though he began his career as a wine maker only nine years ago, Ulbrich has won a slew of international, national, and state awards and caught the attention of key people in the wine-making industry. So how has a guy with a history degree from Valparaiso University and an M.A. in American Indian Law and Policy from the University of Arizona become one of the wine industry’s rising stars? Ulbrich says it’s all about “paying attention to what the wines are saying.”

What the critics are saying

Apparently, Ulbrich has a terrific ear for wine because his bottled creations have been racking up awards since he released his first vintage in 1999. That initial bottling, under the Peninsula Cellars label (located on northern Michigan’s Old Mission Peninsula), netted several Best in Show medals at Michigan’s annual wine and spirits competition, and a few double gold medals in international competitions. 

Since then, his wines have earned gold, double gold, and other top honors like Best of Class in numerous international competitions. But 2003 was the true tipping point. Ulbrich’s 2002 Semidry Riesling for Peninsula Cellars competed against 2,000 other wines and won Best Riesling, Best White Wine, and World Riesling Champion at the International Eastern Wine Competition in New York. One week later, the same wine beat out 4,000 other entries to capture top honors—Best White Wine—at the prestigious San Francisco International Wine Competition. 

During the past seven years, Ulbrich’s wines have earned 34 percent of the Best of Class awards at the Michigan Wine and Spirits competition. And just recently, his 2004 Peninsula Cellars Chardonnay was listed among “The 100 Most Exciting Wines in the World” in noted wine critic Tom Stevenson's 2007 Wine Report.  Ulbrich says, “it has been a very good run!”

The run continues

After his very successful run at Peninsula Cellars, Ulbrich has struck out on his own, under his new “Left Foot Charley” label. “Left Foot Charley is a nickname I earned as a kid for being impulsive and clumsy. My left foot turned in and I tripped constantly,” he says.  “But wine has taught me patience, and I see something unique in Northern Michigan vineyards that I want an opportunity to explore.” 

The new tasting room for Left Foot Charley vintages opens this summer in Traverse City—one of the state’s first urban wineries—in the historic Village at Grand Traverse Commons.  Ulbrich says thanks to a notable 2006 growing season, his new wines are exceptional.  But quantities are limited, so if you want to experience true liquid gold, plan a trek to Traverse City or visit virtually at www.leftfootcharley.com.