Bruce Anderson, Winemaker and President of Sunset Winery L.L.C., has always had very eclectic interests, and came to commercial winemaking at an age when many “hang up their work boots and go fishin’.” He had made wine and beer off an on as an amateur since 1964, but it was a visit to Napa Valley in California in 1995 that started him on the path to his present profession. Before that he had done a number of other things ranging from working in various crafts including leather carving, weaving, bookbinding, jewelry making, photography and wood work [The tasting room bar top is fashioned from a table he designed and built while in college]. He has also taught Danish, worked as a self employed Wellness Educator and worked as a tour guide. Trained in Psychology [Stanford] and Sociology [Northwestern and Duke] he spend most of his adult life teaching at colleges and universities in the US and Canada. Even there his interests were eclectic, teaching courses in Statistics and Research Design, Sociology of Language, Sociology of Health and Medicine, and Sociology of Intercultural Communication. He started studying the art and science of grape growing and wine making at Grayson County Community College in the fall of 1998 while in his 25th year as Associate Professor of Sociology at The University of Texas at Arlington. At the close of the academic year in 1999 Bruce took early retirement from UTA to pursue his other interests, chief among them his new passion for the wine industry.

Birgit Anderson, Winemaker and Vice President of Sunset Winery, L.L.C. grew up in Denmark She has always loved to cook and through apprenticeship, formal instruction and a lot of trial and a little error has become an accomplished culinary artist. She did much of the growing things during their “Little House on the Prairie” days, and still enjoys that. When the children were in middle school and high school she went back to school and learned the Income Tax Business. As an Enrolled Agent she was able to represent clients in Tax Court, if necessary. Planting grapes at Burleson was actually her idea. Birgit has now learned the art of wine making and she and Bruce do the wine work together. As time permits she expects to offer some food and wine pairing classes, and some of her recipes will eventually appear on this web site.

Mike Sipowicz, is our consulting wine maker. Mike graduated from Burleson High School, started college at Texas A&M, and through summer internships with Texas wineries caught the wine bug. He earned a degree in Horticulture from Texas Tech University. During his time at Texas Tech he was the original Brew master at Hub City Brewpub. After graduation he worked in the wine and brewing industry in Texas, then moved to California where he worked as Cellar Master for Charles Krug Winery. He moved from Krug to Merryvale and became their Associate Winemaker before returning to Texas. Mike now lives in Lubbock with his wife and three young children. He has a landscaping business there, and has recently purchased a vineyard. He comes to Burleson several times a year to guide and assist us.