Kentucky’s Youngest Winemaker, Award-Winning Dominique Brousseau’s Vineyard and Winery is right here in Danville – read more!

Kentucky’s Youngest Winemaker Cultivates Her Career

Danville’s Dominique Brousseau, 28, is the youngest female winemaker in the state. She creates award-winning wines at her family’s winery near downtown Danville.

You might say that the art of winemaking runs in Dominique Brousseau’s family.

Her great-great-great-great-grandmother started a winery in France in the 1600s (it’s still operating under different ownership), and Brousseau is the head winemaker at her family’s Chateau du Vieux Corbeau Winery at Danville’s Old Crow Inn.

“Originally at our winery, my brother André was the winemaker, and I worked with him,” Brousseau says. “When he left, I took over. I’ve taken winemaking classes in California, and I’ve also learned a lot from the oldest winemaker in Kentucky at Broad Run Vineyard and Winery in Louisville. It was the women in my family who did the winemaking in France, so I’m carrying on the torch.”

Brousseau’s wines have won a number of awards. Her blackberry wine won Best Fruit Wine in Kentucky at the Kentucky Derby Festival in 2006.

“We have eight different wines for sale right now, and six to eight more that are aging and will soon be ready for sale,” Brousseau says. “Two of our most popular wines are Vidal Blanc and Concord, and our Rio Samba blend is also very popular. All three have won awards.”

In college, Brousseau studied computer science, chemistry and art – a combination of subjects she feels suits her profession.

“Wine is a combination of science and art,” she explains. “Unlike hard liquor, wine is like a food product because it can spoil. A lot of my job is cleaning and sterilization. The art comes into play with blending flavors.”

Chateau du Vieux Corbeau Winery offers complimentary wine tastings Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tours of the winery are also available with advance request.