EST 2004
ABOUT
Sunset Winery is located in the former home of Bruce and Birgit Anderson where they raised their three daughters. In 2005, the winery opened its doors and has been creating memories for other families ever since. High-quality wines, broad selections, extensive wine education, tours, and unique events are a few reasons our customers return again and again. We welcome you to become part of our sunset family and meet our dedicated staff who commit to offering you the best experience possible.
Our Mission:
To make the best possible wines from Texas-grown grapes, and as necessary from grapes sourced elsewhere. We make our wines using primarily native yeasts, minimal processing, and filtration only when absolutely necessary.
To provide opportunities for learning about wine for those with a thirst for knowledge. We'll explain why we use only cork closures for our wines and what that has to do with the quality of the air we breathe.
To serve our community and be good environmental stewards. Whenever possible be reuse, repurpose or recycle.
Bruce Anderson, Owner
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 and 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 (1940-2015)
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 did the wine work together.