Former Kosta Browne, Dutton-Goldfield, and Ravenswood winemaker Garry Brooks and his wife Joanne founded Brooks Note in 2012 — small-batch, elegant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from hidden corners of Sonoma, Marin, and Napa. In 2022 they opened a tasting room in downtown Petaluma, in a renovated 1921 Studebaker dealership.
Garry Brooks left a career in IT business management at Accenture in 2004 to pursue winemaking, and learned his craft over the next decade at Ravenswood, Kosta Browne, and Dutton Goldfield — a trio that defined the modern Pinot Noir conversation in Sonoma. In 2012, he and his wife Joanne (née Note) founded Brooks Note Winery, taking their name from a portmanteau of their married names. The focus was specific: balanced, elegant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from hidden corners of California — the Petaluma Gap, Sonoma, Marin, and the occasional Napa or Mendocino site. Garry remains hands-on as the head winemaker; Reid Kinnett, formerly of Marcassin and Mauritson, joined as a winemaker in 2021.
Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir — The signature; restrained, balanced cool-climate Pinot from the windswept Gap.
Panther Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir, Petaluma Gap — A single-vineyard bottling from the hills near Sonoma Mountain.
Azaya Vineyard Pinot Noir, Marin County — From a cold, wind-battered Petaluma Gap site; floral and lighter-framed.
Chardonnay — A crisp, food-friendly, lightly oaked white built for the table.
Syrah — A cool-climate, Rhône-inspired red from winemaker Garry Brooks (ex-Kosta Browne).
In April 2022, after a down-to-the-studs renovation of a 100-year-old building — originally a 1921 Studebaker dealership — the Brookses opened the Brooks Note Tasting Room and Winery at 426 Petaluma Boulevard North, just one block from downtown Petaluma. The 7,000-square-foot space is solar-powered, retains the original wooden trusses and beams, and houses both the winery's production facilities and a welcoming tasting bar. Three flights ($30–$75) include local cheeses and charcuterie; live music plays some Friday evenings. Long-standing vineyard partnerships with Azaya Ranch, Chileno Valley Vineyard, and Weir Vineyard anchor the portfolio. Open daily 11 AM – 6 PM; reservations appreciated but walk-ins welcome.
Garry Brooks is the founder and winemaker of Brooks Note, the small Pinot Noir–focused label he and his wife Joanne — whose maiden name, Note, completes the winery's name — launched commercially in 2011. A Maryland native and Navy veteran, he left a Bay Area technology career in 2004 to chase winemaking, interning at Ravenswood while earning a viticulture and enology degree from UC Davis, then crafting small-lot Pinot at Kosta Browne (part of the team behind its 2009 Wine of the Year) and as assistant winemaker at Dutton-Goldfield. Brooks Note specializes in vineyard-designate Pinot Noir from the Petaluma Gap, Sonoma Coast, Marin, and Yorkville Highlands, with a tasting room in downtown Petaluma.
Joanne Brooks co-founded Brooks Note with her husband, Garry — the winery’s name joins his surname with her maiden name, Note. When the couple planted a small Sonoma vineyard in 2002 while both worked in technology, it was Joanne who first recognized that Garry’s real passion lay in the grapes rather than in IT, encouraging him to leave the corporate world in 2004 to pursue winemaking. Together they launched their small family label in 2011 and, in 2022, opened a winery, tasting room, and event space in a renovated century-old building in downtown Petaluma, anchoring their Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir program.
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Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir — The signature; restrained, balanced cool-climate Pinot from the windswept Gap.
Panther Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir, Petaluma Gap — A single-vineyard bottling from the hills near Sonoma Mountain.
Azaya Vineyard Pinot Noir, Marin County — From a cold, wind-battered Petaluma Gap site; floral and lighter-framed.
Chardonnay — A crisp, food-friendly, lightly oaked white built for the table.
Syrah — A cool-climate, Rhône-inspired red from winemaker Garry Brooks (ex-Kosta Browne).
Garry Brooks left a career in IT business management at Accenture in 2004 to pursue winemaking, and learned his craft over the next decade at Ravenswood, Kosta Browne, and Dutton Goldfield — a trio that defined the modern Pinot Noir conversation in Sonoma. In 2012, he and his wife Joanne (née Note) founded Brooks Note Winery, taking their name from a portmanteau of their married names. The focus was specific: balanced, elegant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from hidden corners of California — the Petaluma Gap, Sonoma, Marin, and the occasional Napa or Mendocino site. Garry remains hands-on as the head winemaker; Reid Kinnett, formerly of Marcassin and Mauritson, joined as a winemaker in 2021.
In April 2022, after a down-to-the-studs renovation of a 100-year-old building — originally a 1921 Studebaker dealership — the Brookses opened the Brooks Note Tasting Room and Winery at 426 Petaluma Boulevard North, just one block from downtown Petaluma. The 7,000-square-foot space is solar-powered, retains the original wooden trusses and beams, and houses both the winery's production facilities and a welcoming tasting bar. Three flights ($30–$75) include local cheeses and charcuterie; live music plays some Friday evenings. Long-standing vineyard partnerships with Azaya Ranch, Chileno Valley Vineyard, and Weir Vineyard anchor the portfolio. Open daily 11 AM – 6 PM; reservations appreciated but walk-ins welcome.
Garry Brooks is the founder and winemaker of Brooks Note, the small Pinot Noir–focused label he and his wife Joanne — whose maiden name, Note, completes the winery's name — launched commercially in 2011. A Maryland native and Navy veteran, he left a Bay Area technology career in 2004 to chase winemaking, interning at Ravenswood while earning a viticulture and enology degree from UC Davis, then crafting small-lot Pinot at Kosta Browne (part of the team behind its 2009 Wine of the Year) and as assistant winemaker at Dutton-Goldfield. Brooks Note specializes in vineyard-designate Pinot Noir from the Petaluma Gap, Sonoma Coast, Marin, and Yorkville Highlands, with a tasting room in downtown Petaluma.
Joanne Brooks co-founded Brooks Note with her husband, Garry — the winery’s name joins his surname with her maiden name, Note. When the couple planted a small Sonoma vineyard in 2002 while both worked in technology, it was Joanne who first recognized that Garry’s real passion lay in the grapes rather than in IT, encouraging him to leave the corporate world in 2004 to pursue winemaking. Together they launched their small family label in 2011 and, in 2022, opened a winery, tasting room, and event space in a renovated century-old building in downtown Petaluma, anchoring their Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir program.
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