Vino In My Dino

40 Years of Barrel Tasting

March 3, 2017 07:25

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This weekend we are celebrating 40 years of barrel tasting at Pedroncelli—we were one of the founding wineries and have participated in this educational event since the first year-1977. While I was too young at the time to participate I worked my first barrel event in 1986. It was free back then, people even brought their own wine glass with them because the wineries weren’t equipped to wash enough glasses to supply the event. Ahhh those were the days-it is more upscale now with glass included in the ticket price.

The next two weekends we’ll welcome event attendees into our cellar (yours truly will be the greeter) and thief samples of our 2015 Mother Clone Zinfandel side by side with our 2015 Bushnell Vineyard Zin. Our winemaker Montse will be here tomorrow to answer your burning barrel questions; cellar master Polo will be here next Saturday to do the same. Don’t be shy-barrels are a big part of a wine's story.

Here are a few stats to whet your whistle:

Why taste from the barrel? This gives you an idea of the aging process-compare an unfinished wine with a finished wine for the best comparison like our 2015 Mother Clone vs the current 2014. You'll find subtle and extreme differences between the two.

What happens inside the barrel? During the aging process, as the water and alcohol dissipate and thereby concentrating the wine, the young wine softens little by little. It will take on aspects of the oak as well as loosen up its' grip. If you are trying a wine from the recent harvest be prepared-the tannins are pretty harsh but the silver lining is you get a glimpse of things to come—the fruit components, the acidity, the body—and some of the characteristics will dominate the others.

How many barrels do we have and what kind of oak are they? There are 2000 barrels in our Barrel Room. Most are American oak, some French and a smattering of Hungarian. Each barrel holds about 25 cases of wine-50,000 cases of vino at any given time.

It's cold in here-what is the cellar temperature? This is important-our barrel room is kept at a constant 55 or so degrees. It is also humidified because this helps to slow down the oxidation within each barrel-which helps to save wine.

A toast to barrels-get it? toast ha ha-with a splash of Zinfandel in my Dino!

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Categories: Barrel | Events | Founding Winery
Pillars of Pedroncelli: Farming

February 28, 2017 13:42

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Plans for our 90^th anniversary are being rolled out via press releases, wine writer samples and extra market travel. When we decided to focus on the whole year as a celebration we will make sure each event we host or participate in focuses on and celebrates our 9 decades as a family owned and farmed winery in Dry Creek Valley. We developed the “Pillars of Pedroncelli” to emphasize what has made our business so successful. The first of the three is family, the second is farming.

Dry Creek Valley is very special to us. I am glad my grandparents put down roots here when they could have chosen anywhere else. Today we know this is one of the best places on earth to farm grapes. And great wines begin with the best vineyard locations.

Cesar Perez with Silver plowing hillside Zinfandel-circa 1960s. Very few photos of our vineyard survive. This is a good representation of our home ranch.

Our winery and vineyards are located in this American Viticultural Area we helped form. Renowned as prime land for grape growing, high quality wines are the result. The climate, where the development in ripening grapes is protected from the heat by the marine fog intrusion in the evenings, is singular and unparalleled. Pedroncelli wines are regionally focused and site specific and we’ve learned to pair the right varietal with the best site creating great character. Farming at its best is when you take the sum of experience and find just the right spot for a varietal. Wine excellence follows.

Fog burning off the vineyard, typically late morning, and it makes all the difference in quality.

A little background on the valley itself. It is 2 miles wide and 16 miles long and is associated with three towns: Healdsburg, Geyserville and Cloverdale. It is the smallest of the four major appellations within Sonoma County. Populated in the mid-1800s by settlers, grape growing began in earnest by the 1860s. Wineries cropped up by the 1870s and the rest is history. Well except for that 13 year Prohibition ‘experiment’. By 1972 a wine renaissance drew many new vintners to the area as we were the only commercial winery during those lean years following Repeal. Today 9000 acres are planted with more than 70 wineries and we welcome visitors to experience what wine and grape farming are all about. A toast in my Dino with a splash of friends.red to farming the best spot on earth!

Second generation Cabernet Sauvignon-you do gain a lot of wisdom from 50 years of growing the same varietal on the same site.

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Pillars of Pedroncelli: Flagships

February 28, 2017 13:37

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Plans for our 90^th anniversary included defining the three pillars of Pedroncelli-what sets us apart from all the others. This month's posts included family first-who we are and what we have been doing for 90 years to carry on our heritage; the second is farming-this singular place where development in the grapes we plant are defined by climate and soils making high quality wine and the importance of being good stewards of the land for 9 decades. Finally our flagships: Zinfandel, of course, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Dry Creek Valley and Zinfandel are synonymous so it’s natural that it would be our first varietal produced and our flagship. It was among the first grapes to be planted in the 1860s when Dry Creek Valley became home to vineyards. Our home ranch has been planted to the grape since the early 1900s and we kept the vineyard going through Prohibition by selling to home winemakers. Zinfandel was the first varietal wine we made in 1948 and followed with Rosé by 1954. Today half of all Zinfandel grown in Sonoma County (2500 acres) is grown in Dry Creek Valley. We have found it to be distinctive when grown here showcasing the berry-pepper dynamic of fruit on one side and the signature black pepper spice on the other.

We were the first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon in Dry Creek Valley where it flourishes after 50 years and has its own unique qualities of fruit and spice. Having purchased this 5 acre piece in 1965, located on West Dry Creek Road, we learned site specific qualities gaining wisdom over the years as how Cabernet thrived in the climate, soil and which trellising ripened the grapes best. 3200 acres are planted in the valley putting the king of grapes at the top of the list.

It makes sense that these two varietals make up over 50% of our estate vineyards and both are considered hallmark wines here in Dry Creek Valley. A splash of Cabernet in my Dino as a toast to flagships.

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OTBN!

February 24, 2017 13:56

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Open That Bottle Night is tomorrow night, the 25th of February. This is a fun way to take a look at the wines you have stored or saved over the years-and even if you don’t have a cellar or closet to age wine pick something up you haven’t tried before. It doesn’t have to be expensive or an older vintage-just open that bottle!

Some advice: In the case you have an older vintage on your hands remember to check a few things out: fill level of bottle or any leaks through the cork. If you have a two-pronged wine opener this is best for older corks but careful use of a regular corkscrew should do the trick. Decant if you like although I think the aromas of an older vintage (15-20-30 years old) tends to dissipate quickly. Needless to say don’t linger over a wine that is quite old-it is delicate in its old age.

Here are a few OBTN comments from friends over the last year-perhaps you have a bottle lingering in the cellar/basement/closet/top of the refrigerator (hope not) that you and your wine friends would enjoy!

Dave P, MN: My wife and I have been drinking your wines for many years (30+). For tonight's Valentine's Day dinner, I made beef tenderloin with mushrooms and a mustard sauce. I opened your 2008 Family Vineyard Petite Sirah. It was wonderful. Smooth tannins. Fruit practically jumped out of the glass. It was the perfect accompaniment to the food. The predominant flavors on my palate were blackberry and cherry and blueberry. To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure prior to opening it that it would be primo. But it was. Now I have to go buy more of it.

Herb S.,: I am finishing a 2012 Dry Creek Valley Cab. I opened it today around 2pm. Popped and poured right into the glass. It was great directly out the bottle. Definitely noticed it needed a little air, but very satisfying. As the night went on the wine just got better and better until the best sip was my last sip at midnight. (I actually left the house for a few hours, or that bottle would have been long gone!) Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the work you do to put out a quality product, consistently. My cellar will always be stocked with Pedroncelli!

Or this video about our 1972 Cabernet Sauvignon by Bobke TV

Either way I'll be enjoying a wine in my Dino-now which one should I open?

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Pillars of Pedroncelli: Family

February 10, 2017 13:47

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Last month we worked out our plans for our 90th anniversary. Deciding to focus on the whole year as a celebration, each event we host or participate in will focus on and celebrate our 9 decades of being a family owned and farmed winery in Dry Creek Valley. We developed the “Pillars of Pedroncelli” to emphasize what has made our business so successful. The first of is family.

It all begins with my grandparents Giovanni and Julia Pedroncelli who purchased a vineyard, shuttered winery and a home—beginning a now four generation legacy smack dab in the middle of Prohibition. Something about this place called to them-perhaps it was the largely Italian population of the valley or memories of home. Either way it is one of the firsts of our family legacy-buying a winery during the driest period in U. S. history. And I am very happy they chose Dry Creek Valley when there were so many other places in this state—like Bakersfield…

Aunts Margaret and Marianne flank John, around the time they moved here.

Pedroncelli was among the earliest on the Sonoma County wine scene and there are many other firsts for us: inviting customers to taste wine in the cellar and take away bottles blended by my grandfather in those early years. I call this the social media of the day-volume of sales depended on this homegrown effort of word of mouth, friends telling friends.

A boy and his dog (Jim, age 9)

There is a family story about my dad Jim who went missing one day after the family worked in the vineyard-he was found later under a vine with his dog.

We crafted a varietal Zinfandel by 1949 and not too much later added Sonoma to the label. We made a Rosé out of Zinfandel in 1954 now with more than 60 consecutive vintages. We were the first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon in Dry Creek Valley in 1966. We were early adopters of small oak barrel aging and temperature controlled stainless steel tanks transitioning from redwood and concrete fermentors.

In the cellar Giovanni & John in the cellar.

My dad Jim blazed the trail in establishing a network of distributors selling wine through the three tier system and by the 1980s he helped create an independent sales & marketing network. Today we work with some of those original wholesalers, many multi-generational as well.

Jim Pedroncelli, 1970 Jim in the early 1970s.

I think one of the best ‘firsts’ for my family is thriving beyond the first and second generations with careful planning, quiet innovation and steadfast quality. Here’s to the next 90 with a splash of Zinfandel, our flagship, in my Dino!

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A Pedroncelli Taste Up

January 27, 2017 12:46

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Moving into the 21st century for a winery celebrating 90 years can sometimes be a challenge or easy. This was one of those easy moments. Cooking was involved and this made it easy for me. We worked with Robert Larsen, The Larsen Projekt, to set up a virtual tasting with several members of the blogging community reaching from coast to coast.

I chose a recipe and the wines we’d be tasting along with it. Thinking of my grandmother Julia I chose one that closely resembled her own cooking-she didn’t write anything down so it is up to the ensuing generations to take a stab at her delicious meals. Parmesan Polenta with Sausage Ragu was my choice and I paired it with three of our wines: Signature Selection Chardonnay, Mother Clone Zinfandel and Family Vineyards Petite Sirah.

The chosen day and time was January 26 at 4pm in order to touch base with our east coasters and friends in the mid-west in order for us all to have a chance to make the meal. I uploaded several tweets ahead of time in order to give them some information on the winery, family and wines. We queued up the computers and hosted two bloggers at the winery as well-@luscious_lushes and @wizardofwhiskey.

Questions and fingers flew as we tasted each of the wines and also dug into the tasty polenta. We were also trending on Twitter which I heard was a good thing-nice to be trendy! The link will bring you to the conversation as well as the many photos shared of each blogger's success with the recipe. I answered as many of the inquiries as possible-and enjoyed sipping and eating along the way.

Here are some of the exchanges which you can follow in the link above:

@Pedroncelli Why the decision to begin a winery mid-Prohibition? #ped90th (@Fiery01Red)

@Pedroncelli gets it right: Their wines are made w/ food, friends and family in mind! #Zinfandel #wine #food #lifeisgood#winelover #PED90th (@myvinespot)

Reconnecting with Dry Creek Valley with @Pedroncelli for #ped90th (@DrinkWhatULike)

All in all it was a fun and informative evening. A toast to all with a splash of Mother Clone Zinfandel in my Dino (it was my favorite pick and pairing of the evening).

Tags: Pedroncelli, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, Recipe
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Speaking Pedroncelli

January 19, 2017 12:59

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I am an introvert through and through. 32 years in the wine business has changed this part of me. I often say I am an extrovert by profession meaning I’m ‘on’ when in the public eye. In the early years I learned one thing: if you didn’t speak up you were overlooked. I signed up for an executive speaking course from Lynda Paulson and 28 years later I took it again.

I took The Executive Speaking experience because I needed to brush up on my talks this year about our 90th anniversary. What I ended up doing was writing a 7 minute speech about my passion for cooking, which comes second to wine in my life. Well, my husband and family come first. Then Wine. Then Cooking.

The outline for my speech:

This particular class was made up of winery people like me as well as other executives from the insurance and capital management worlds. We had fun introducing each other and began videotaping all of our assignments including our 7 minute talk which we then critiqued on the afternoon of the last day. While a work in progress, I could see more confidence in my posture as well as voice. What struck me most was the 'But, ums' I peppered throughout—and I recalled the How I Met Your Mother episode with the drinking game based on how many times Robin said But, um. See it here for a refresher.

So I’ll be working those But, ums out of my speaking. Lynda calls them non-words which also include actually and so. Most importantly I’ll be rehearsing the heck out of my talking points. The mirror and video will be my friends during this time. I also want to call out my husband Ed who has helped me over the years with finding my voice-the real me. A toast to future talks with some Chardonnay in my Dino!

Here is the team-great lunch at Bistro Don Giovanni by the way.

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Vineyard View: Atmospheric River

January 13, 2017 13:05

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Earlier this week I was looking out my office window wondering if the rain would ever end. It was difficult to see beyond a few hundred feet the visibility was so poor during the deluge that particular afternoon. You might say you can’t see the vines for the sheets of rain coming down. Contrary to last month, when the soil was still absorbing the rain, today it is running off as fast as it can.

The creeks are full, sometimes to overflowing, because they are reaching their limits as water courses down from the hills. The way our property is situated we have a major tributary, called Canyon Creek, which runs east to west across and under the property. It joins Dry Creek about two miles west of us. It is backed up as it joins the swollen creek because there is so much water heading down to where it meets the Russian River in Healdsburg, 9 miles downstream.

The really good news from this atmospheric river dropping nearly 11 inches on our vineyard in the last week, with other areas receiving 22 (!) inches, is the drought has bee officially called off for most of Northern California. The sad news is it came at a cost-erosion, trees falling, 3000 residents evacuated in the Guerneville area (where the Russian River flows on its’ way to the ocean), roads closed and roads washed out. For rain geeks here is the Sonoma County Water Agency website with the latest totals--typically our average rainfall by now is 11 inches-and we got that in less than a week! Also of note is the level of Lake Sonoma-which was built to hold back water and flood control and is already at 113%.

For now, we are happy for a break over the weekend as more rain is predicted next week. A toast with a splash of Mother Clone Zinfandel in my Dino!

The first photo was taken on December 21st and the second one on January 13. Notice the difference in the color of the water.

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3 Views of 90

January 5, 2017 13:10

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We are looking forward to turning 90 as a four generation family owned and operated winery this year. The official ‘90’ mark is July 22, the anniversary of my grandfather Giovanni Pedroncelli signing the papers. It is a good time to look both to the past, the present and the future so the next three posts reflect each period.

The first two decades of the family business found my grandparents getting through the rest of Prohibition (1927 was about the halfway point) by selling grapes to local head of households who could legally make 200 gallons of wine. Let's pause and add up the amount of wine which equals 84 cases! That is one happy household. And more importantly it kept the 25 acres of grapes thriving on our home ranch-mostly Zinfandel with a smattering of other grapes.

This receipt is the final part of the purchase of the property for Giovanni or John as he was now known.

Once we were through Repeal, the Great Depression and World War II, with the second generation of John (winemaker) and Jim (sales) in place, we were in business with a label, a line of wines and consumer demand in part brought on by those who served in Europe during the war.

Note in the label above that Sonoma is used well before it was made a requirement-proudly used since the 1950s.

The ensuing decades saw huge development not only in the production of wine and vineyard acquisition but also the second generation investing in the purchase of the winery from the first. Vineyards were planted, stainless steel tanks replaced redwood, more cellar expansion, and markets were opened nationally and then internationally. It was a busy time with many other wineries joining us in what I call the Wine Renaissance of the 1970s.

John, left, and Jim in the Mother vineyard circa 1973.

A toast to the early years and hard work of the first and second generations with a little Zinfandel in my Dino!

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Where were you in '76?

December 29, 2016 13:19

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Where were you in 1976?
- The luxury jet plane, the Concorde, embarked on its first commercial flight in January.
- The Winter Olympics were held in Innsbruck in Austria and the Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Canada. Nadia Comaneci (from Romania) earned the first of 7 perfect scores of 10 in gymnastics at the event. Bruce Jenner won the Decathlon
- The Apple Computer company was formed on the 1st of April 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
- Jimmy Carter was nominated for U.S. President at the Democratic National Convention in New York City in 1976. He won the election to become the 39th president of the United States of America.
- Microsoft was officially registered with the Office of the Secretary of the State of New Mexico in the United States in 1976.
- The Concorde has stopped flying, we all know what happened with Bruce, Steve, Steve and Jimmy. And we all remember Microsoft-the huge software company that missed that whole personal device craze.
One other thing of note happened in 1976. Kathy Cross joined J. Pedroncelli Winery, Inc. as Secretary and Office Manager. A post which she has quietly held for 40 years. It took a mention from husband John Cross while talking to my mom Phyllis that brought Kathy to Pedroncelli-she was looking to shorten her commute which at that time took her from Healdsburg to Rohnert Park to work for State Farm. Once hired she commuted 9 short miles to Geyserville and the rest is history (or herstory).

There haven’t been too many long term bookkeepers at Pedroncelli-my grandmother Julia was the first, my mom filled in for a time followed by a few other secretaries. When Kathy started I don’t think she thought it would be for this long!

She has been at Jim’s right hand watching the ebbs and flows of the wine business; the changes from high-volume Sonoma Red to Single Vineyard varietal wines. She went from manual type writer and adding machines to networked work stations and printers and web-based software. She’s watched and guided a whole new generation of Pedroncelli’s grow into their own, preparing to lead the next generations along a new and wonderful path. She’s been here through births and deaths and life changes and celebrations, always at her desk quietly encouraging and guiding the family-our family--of which she has been a big part for a very long time. And her family has grown throughout the years as well—most recently with two grandchildren who are the light of her life.

Saying goodbye to someone who has worked at the winery since 1976 is a challenge to say the least. My mom calls her my dad’s ‘office wife’ and for sure it will be a difficult transition for all of us-40 years, 7 months and 26 days later Kathy is retiring on Friday December 30. A toast to Kathy with a splash of Sauvignon Blanc-her favorite.

From a favorite photo of Kathy and her daughter Katy who worked in our tasting room for a time. Cheers ladies!

The bus on our way to Kathy's retirement lunch-Roederer Sparkling all around!

Happy retirement Kathy!

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