Vino In My Dino

View from the Soapbox

November 20, 2015 12:25

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I am posting the speech I wrote up and read at a public forum on winery events held by the County of Sonoma’s Permit and Resource Management Department. Attendees included wine and grape growers as well as neighborhood groups and concerned citizens as we look to the future of marketing wine here in the county.

88 years ago my grandparents purchased vineyard and a defunct winery in what would become known as Dry Creek Valley. They arrived with their young family and began selling grapes to support their family because Prohibition was in place at the time. You should know that Prohibition was also the reason the first family had to sell and give up their dream. Upon Repeal my grandfather dusted off the winery equipment and began making wine out of the grapes he farmed. Ag, at its most basic, sustains a family through good and bad times-Prohibition, Depression, recession, bountiful harvests and wine booms. Today second, third and fourth generation Pedroncelli family members are make a living and live here in Sonoma County.

Imagine how much has changed for us over 8 decades of selling wine. Word of mouth, as in my grandfather’s day, is still important but the scope has changed. We incorporate educational activities and events to promote and sell our wine. Regulation of these will only curtail or even kill off present and future efforts of marketing our product to visitors in Sonoma County. What is required is greater enforcement of the General Plan’s policies. We are creative in how we market our wines. Please don’t prohibit our creativity of emphasizing the lifestyle and wine’s part in Sonoma County.

I ask on behalf of the next generations of my family and other families who dream of putting down wine or grape roots here in Sonoma County. I encourage you to gain a complete understanding of what we do on a daily basis-and gain an understanding of our history and how we got here-with beginnings as far back as the 1850’s. I found a quote from History of Sonoma County by J.P. Munro-Fraser, 1879: “(Dry Creek Valley) is without peer in the production of wheat, corn and staple products while the hill land on its border produces all kinds of fruit, being especially adapted to grape culture.” Agriculture and product sales is what keeps a diverse culture in our county. We don’t want to become like Santa Clara County which to this day regrets the loss of agriculture to Silicon Valley.

My hope is to preserve our family business so my grandsons have a chance to continue the heritage begun by their great-great-grandparents. Here's to family traditions with a splash of Zinfandel in my Dino!

Couldn't resist including a shot of Jordan and Weston in the barrel room-future winemakers? salesman? Time will tell.

Tags: Pedroncelli, Dry Creek Valley, Prohibition, generations
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Celebrating National Zinfandel Day

November 18, 2015 12:33

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We have been growing Zinfandel on our property since the turn of the 20th century when a 25 acre vineyard was established before my grandparents bought the property mid-Prohibition. Some of these vines are still around and continue to produce grapes. Since it is National Zinfandel Day I’ll share what I have of the first years of Zinfandel (aka Zinfandal, Zeinfindall, Black St. Peters and a host of other names).
- 1832—First record of Zinfandel being grown in the US by William Prince on Long Island, New York. He identifies it as a Hungarian variety.
- 1834—First reported exhibit of Zinfandel by Samuel J. Perkins of Boston.
- 1839—Zinfandal vine wins its first award as part of the Otis Johnson collection on the East Coast.
- 1848—John Fisk Allen of Salem, Massachusetts, publishes description of locally grown Zinfandal that closely matches what is now called Zinfandel.
- 1852—The year Agoston Haraszthy imported Zin into California, according to his son, Arpad, writing in the 1880’s. Haraszthy is sometimes known as the “father of Sonoma County winegrowing”.
- 1857—Captain Frederick W. Macondray and J.W. Osborne exhibit Zinfandal at Mechanic’s Fair in San Francisco.
- 1858—Commissioner of Patents lists Zinfandal as part of its collection.
- 1858—A.P. Smith of Sacramento exhibits Zeinfindall at State Fair.
- 1859—Antoine Delmas wins first prize for his wine, believed to be Zinfandel, at the State Fair.
- 1860—William Boggs plants Zinfandel in the propagation garden of the Sonoma Horticultural Society. Leads to extensive Zin plantings in the county.
- 1860—General Vallejo’s winemaker, Dr. Victor Flaure, advises Sonoma growers to plant all the Zinfandel they can.
- 1864-1869—Dry Creek Valley experiences the first growers who many feel planted Zinfandel and Mission grapes to support or start their own wineries.
- 1868—First North Coast award (a silver medal) for a Zinfandel given to Sonoma pioneer wineman Jacob R. Snyder at the Mechanics Institute Fair.
- 1872—The first winery in Dry Creek Valley was built by George Bloch. A vineyard boom soon followed with about 15 growers by 1877.
- 1878—Zinfandel is the most widely planted varietal during California’s first wine boom.
- 1883—Dry Creek grape growers increased to 54 by this time and Zinfandel was the top planted varietal with a total of 395 acres.
The rest, as they say, is zinstory. Even though Prohibition came along and many vineyards were pulled up for other crops, we continued to sell grapes until the U.S. saw the light and Repeal came along. After all, over 2500 acres of Zinfandel in the smallest major appellation in Sonoma County can't be wrong. A toast with Zinfandel in my Dino to this singular grape!

Tags: Pedroncelli, Zinfandel, National Wine Day
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Fall Colors

November 13, 2015 12:40

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Fall. My favorite season and rightly so. The days are crisp and cool, the oak trees and vineyards begin their journey to winter and after our early November rainfall the air is acrid, damp and full of promise.

Fall color in the vineyard means bright bands of yellow or brown as the leaves age and begin to fall. While white wine varietal vines go from green to yellow (and curiously our Sangiovese does the same) the red wine varietals sometimes exhibit bright red or purple if it is virused, more red-brown if not. The bright red color is due to leafroll virus that is prevalent in many vines old or new. While driving through Napa yesterday I came upon the most scarlet colored vineyard I had ever seen. While striking it is a result of this disease and cannot be stopped unless the vineyard is replaced.

The photo below is a view of our home ranch vineyard and includes a few varietals as you can see by the different bands of color. At the top are two of our Portuguese varietals and as you come down the hill you'll see a red (virused) strip of Petite Sirah followed by the yellow-green of Sangiovese. In the foreground are some of our Zinfandel vines showing a bit of virus.

A toast to all the colors of fall with a splash of Zinfandel in my Dino.

Tags: Pedroncelli, vineyard
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Veteran's Day Honors

November 11, 2015 12:53

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Here is a photo of my grandfather when he served on behalf of the U.S. during World War I. His service later on helped him acquire a Veteran's loan to buy the property in Sonoma County and he brought his young family to live here where he sustained them by selling grapes during Prohibition and later on opening a winery. 88 years later his heritage continues.

My dad served in the Army during the early 1950's in Germany. His stash of letters, saved by my grandmother, is a great snapshot of life during this time. They also saved part of his uniform, seen below. During World War II, when he was a youngster, he was known to climb inside the wine tanks and scrape out the tartrates for munitions.

A salute to all the veterans past and present for providing freedom sometimes at great cost.

Tags: Pedroncelli, family, Sonoma County
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Vineyard in the Fall: Making Amendments

November 6, 2015 13:20

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Fall colors don't just happen in New England. The changes in the season here in Dry Creek Valley include cool days in the 60s, color changes in the vine leaves and oak trees, rain and the ensuing aromatics the damp ground gives up as I walk the vineyard lanes.

Making amendments means some parts of vineyards need additional help following the grape harvest. Soils were a bit more stressed from the drought and growing season and showed it. In some blocks of our 30 acres of Zinfandel we make these amendments in the fall shortly after harvest in order to distress the soil. It comes in the form of lime, hence the white powder you see in the photo below. This feeds the soil the nutrients it needs.

While there isn’t much virus in this part of our Mother Clone vineyard, usually seen in the brilliant purple/red/orange leaves, the addition of nutrients keeps it healthy for another vintage. I'll have a splash of Mother Clone Zinfandel in a toast to fall.

Tags: Pedroncelli, Dry Creek Valley, vineyard, Mother Clone
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Being a Road Wine Warrior

November 4, 2015 13:29

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Part of my job, year round, is to travel to various markets I am in charge of and work with our wholesalers, bringing recognition to our brand by presenting wine to both retail and restaurant wine buyers. As an example I’ll use my trip last week to North Carolina where we are working with a new wholesaler.

My week began as I headed from SFO to Charlotte on Monday. The next day I was picked up at 9:30 by Charles and the first stop of the day was very unusual. We met at the retailer’s home. This was a first for me in all the years I have worked various markets. And it was fun too-he treated us to a great pot of coffee while there. Our stops over the day included many gathering spots across Charlotte and lunch at Rooster’s, a former restaurant for Charles who was a chef before getting into the wholesale side of things. With great response to our wines I moved on to Raleigh where I would be stationed for the rest of the week.

I hadn’t worked this particular market in quite a few years. I had forgotten how very genuine and friendly North Carolinians are. As we worked our way through the accounts on Wednesday, I met up with old friends who have sold our wine for many years as well as meeting new friends who appreciated the wines for their QPR-quality-price ratio. Dinner at one of my favorite spots, and well known gathering place, The Angus Barn completed the day.

Josh picked me up on Thursday for a focus on the Hope Valley/Chapel Hill area. More visits, more conversation, more sales as I was whisked from account to account with great conversation flowing in the car between stops. Fueled by a really good cup of coffee of course. I had mentioned how much I love champagne and sparkling wine and we ended our day at a lovely spot with a glass of bubbly.

To finish off the week I presented our wines to the sales team at the wholesaler’s offices on Friday. Talking about my family and our history in Dry Creek Valley while going through each of the wines in their portfolio was fun because at this type of meeting there is more give and take between the sales reps and me. Some of them called out a favorite wine, some asked more questions about the winery. I ended up signing some wine bottles and then visited one more account on the way to the airport. I went home knowing I had planted a lot of seeds and know the next time I visit there will be even more opportunities! With a splash of Zinfandel in my Dino to all my friends in the great state of North Carolina.

Tags: Pedroncelli, Market Work, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
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Cellar know-how: Wine Diamonds and how to prevent them

October 23, 2015 13:45

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More cellar know-how continues in my posts this month along with other vineyard matters. Today I am focusing on cold stabilization and how important it is to white wine production.

Cold stabilization is the only method we use for our white wines, rosé and even our Pinot Noir in order to prevent a certain type of sediment. This procedure is to make sure you don’t get potassium bitartrates, commonly referred to as tartrates (and wine diamonds), in your wine once it has been refrigerated or caught on a shipment in the deep freeze north or perhaps thrown in your freezer for a quick chill and you forgot to take it out in 30 minutes. This means the temperature controlled stainless steel tanks are brought down to 32 degrees Fahrenheit and the harmless wine diamonds drop and are filtered out. Simple as that-a toast to cellar work post-harvest with a splash of Chardonnay in my Dino.

Frosty 2015 Sauvignon Blanc during the cold stabilization period to remove tartrates.

Tags: Pedroncelli, Sauvignon Blanc, Cellar
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Harvest leftovers

October 9, 2015 13:52

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More harvest know-how continues in my posts this month along with other vineyard and cellar matters. Today I am talking about the ‘leftovers’ of harvest: stems, pomace and lees.

Stems are the first to go once grapes have arrived at the crush pad. The destemming happens before the grapes are transferred to fermentation tanks. The stems at Pedroncelli are used as erosion control along the vineyard avenues.

Pomace is the name for the skins and seeds left from either white wine production when they are removed by pressing the berries before fermentation or red wine production when they are fermented with the juice to extract flavor and color. Once through the press the pomace is transferred to an area on our vineyard where it will be tarped for one year and then used to add nutrients to the vineyard.

Lees are what is left from fermentation in both white and red wine production. The dregs of the tanks or barrels are filtered out so your glass of wine isn’t cloudy or gunky. These cakes of dead yeast cells are composted. Sometimes we don’t filter the lees right away when, for instance, a small lot of our F. Johnson Vineyard Chardonnay is barrel fermented and the lees are kept in barrel for seven months of aging and the lees are stirred to give the wine more complexity.

(I found this photo of a barrel section with lees at the bottom before filtering.)

A splash of F. Johnson Vineyard Chardonnay in my Dino to celebrate harvest leftovers.

Tags: Pedroncelli, Harvest
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2015 vs 2012

October 2, 2015 13:59

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More harvest know-how continues in my blog this month along with other cellar and vineyard post-season matters. Today I am comparing the difference between Cabernet Sauvignon which has just completed its’ fermentation process and gone through the press with a current release that is three years older. The new wine has just spent 10 days in a temperature controlled stainless steel tank with the cap of skins where all the color and flavor is stored. Pumpovers each day ensure the juice is in frequent contact with the cap. The differences aren’t too far apart when you look at the depth of color in the glasses-it is quite opaque. I see the real difference in the rim of the wine.

The brilliant purple color of the new wine contrasts with the browner, reddish tones of the Cabernet that has been aged for one year in oak and bottle aged for another. In a few months the new Cabernet will be put to bed for its’ year in oak around January. The process of aging the wine will soften it, the color will also change from the deep purple to a red or garnet hue through the slow oxidation over the twelve months. When the wine is bottled and continues aging it also begins to change color but this is a slow process, taking several years, and ultimately fades a bit with time.

Thanks to Robert F. for sending the photo of our 1974 Cabernet-you can see the color change in this now 40 year old wine. A splash of Cabernet, young or old, in my Dino today!

Tags: Pedroncelli, wine tasting, Vintage Wine, Vintage Year, Cabernet Sauvignon
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More harvest know-how: The Cellar

September 25, 2015 14:08

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Pressing matters. Literally. Once the red wine tank is done with its’ primary fermentation it is time to put the young wine through the press which separates the skins and seeds from the newly fermented grape juice. The skins and seeds are conveyed away and are now known as pomace. The pomace will be spread around the vineyards in a year, after it has taken the cure under a tarp.

Once the pressing is done the wine is transferred to another tank for its’ secondary fermentation. This is known as malolactic fermentation and turns a somewhat harsh acid to a milder one. Think tart green apple (malic acid) turned to softer butter-like acid (lactic) by introducing lactic acid bacteria. If you have heard of ‘buttery’ Chardonnay it is likely it underwent malolactic fermentation. In red wine the process is there to do its’ job of making the wine more palatable. How long does all of this fermenting take? 2-3 weeks typically. We’ll be finished soon-and then the wine will rest before being transferred to barrels in January. A toast to the harvest and all the people who made it happen!

This is a shot from harvest in 2006 of Humberto De La O (now retired) is pictured here overseeing the pressing of one of our red wines. Photo credit: Hipolito Cano, Cellar Master.

Tags: Pedroncelli, Harvest, Cellar, fermentation
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