Browne Family Vineyards

Our mural at Browne Family Vineyards’ Tacoma tasting room depicts the story of the amazing life of Bitner Browne, grandfather and hero of the winery’s founder Andrew Browne. We were privileged to read a lyrical, moving letter written by Bitner to his wife, Dottie, during WWII, and many of the scenes in the mural are taken from the letter—in particular, passages describing sleeping under his Jeep in the mud and rain, and how the French farmers, no matter how poor they were, always offered the American GIs good cheese, bread, wine, and a fire to dry their socks. Bitner led a huge, amazing life—he attended Harvard Law, then escaped for an impulsive trip to Bordeaux, where he fell in love with Bordeaux red wines. He spoke fluent French, was recruited to work with the OSS during the war (the precursor to today’s CIA), and dropped behind enemy lines before D-Day to work with the French Resistance. He was part of the liberation of Paris, and was the officer that liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp, and later hunted Nazis to bring them in for trial following the war. He was a highly decorated soldier, including the Croix de Guerre from the French army, and a Bronze Star from the US government. It was a truly special honor to get to depict his amazing life in this mural, in collaboration with the Brownes and the always-inspiring team at Heidi Caillier Design. First photo taken by Seattle based photographer, Haris Kenjar.

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