Captivating Rhine Cruise, July 4-11, 2026,
with Brian & Jennifer Bumgarner of Bumgarner Winery & Vineyards

Bumgarner Winery & Vineyards

In 1993, Brian Bumgarner began his journey in wine as a man wearing many hats. He was a tasting room manager, wine sales consultant, bottling line attendant, and held a spare palette for wine blending trials. Being curious, Brian had asked the head winemaker if he had extra grapes to spare to make his own wine. He was gifted with enough grapes to make just one barrel of Zinfandel.

That curiosity had grown into a new passion. Brian found himself starting a new life in the wine world. In 2005, and he made that dream a reality by releasing his first vintage of El Dorado Cabernet Sauvignon. His passion was immediately well-received. One Sacramento restauranteur stated, “beautifully magnificent and intense, with quality far exceeding typical expectations of a Foothill Cabernet”.

In 2010 Brian and his wife Jennifer Bumgarner opened their first tasting room in Camino, California, located in the Sierra Nevada foothills below Lake Tahoe. Here Brian expanded to growing and creating wines from Tempranillo, Pinot Noir, Petite Sirah grapes, and a Bordeaux-style blend named Many Hands. The focus was on both elegance and sustainability. They launched the Silver Fork wine label, a series of wines in environmentally friendly wines. meant to be a staple on the table like a silver fork. Bumgarner Wines capture the story of devotion in a bottle and how curiosity can spark a new passion.

In 2017 the Bumgarners purchased a 30-acre vineyard in Fair Play, California.The newly established Bumgarner Winery and Vineyards now produced varieties such as Sémillon and Chenin Blanc. In 2021 Brian became the second recipient of the Winemaker of the Year Award from Wine Snob Blog.

Join Brian & Jennifer Bumgarner on a voyage up the mighty Rhine River, from Amsterdam to Basel, visiting Holland, Germany, French Alsace and Switzerland. This is one of the most popular river cruises in Europe.Highlights include sailing beneath the 41 castles above the Rhine Gorge, and visiting Cologne, Rudesheim, Strasbourg and the Alsace wine region.

There is an optional 3 night pre-cruise program in Amsterdam, allowing ample time to explore that wonderful city and adjust to the time change. Get to know others in the Bumgarner Rhine Group before boarding the beautiful ship AmaViola for a 7-night voyage up the Rhine.