Vino In My Dino

Pedroncelli at The Smithsonian

October 23, 2014 14:25

Tweet

One year ago my family was in Washington DC celebrating the 80th anniversary of Repeal from Prohibition. The event was held at the Smithsonian Castle and was a fundraiser for the National Museum of American History. Did you know that one of our 1950s family dinner photos is included in an exhibit entitled FOOD: Transforming the American Table, 1950-2000 at the museum? It debuted in November 2012 and includes many of the iconic moments taking place during those 50 years including Julia Child’s kitchen and the history of American wine and its place on the table. Here is a photo of the exhibit and will be displayed for another 3 years-plenty of time to go and see it. The family also donated several of our own artifacts after two curators toured the winery in 2013. When curator Paula Johnson turned to me and asked, “Would you rather have hundreds of people see this or thousands?” the opportunity was too good to pass up-a way of preserving our history as well as sharing with America. A cellar door sign, a ledger, a wooden grape box, my grandmother’s polenta pot and a barrel stencil from the 1930’s joined their archives. We feel it is a beginning rather than an ending—when the museum shares our history in a future exhibit! Cheers to our past and future.

Here is part of the exhibit with our photo in the background.

Tags: Pedroncelli, family business, family, food and wine
Categories:
A Tale of Two Tasters

October 21, 2014 14:59

Tweet

We were at an event a month ago when two people, unrelated, walked up to the table-the woman spoke to my husband Ed and the fellow struck up a conversation with me. It was about hospitality in our tasting room the two experienced that spanned 40 years between them. Her story: she was in town a few days before the event visiting tasting rooms in Sonoma County and she found herself in ours. Her experience here was capped by a very friendly tasting room staffer, Juliette. She sought us out at the event because of her very positive and educational visit just to share her delight in our welcoming atmosphere. His story: He told me he found our tasting room in the early 1970s, which in my opinion wasn’t too hard to do as we were one of the few operating in Dry Creek Valley at the time. He was a student just out of college and was going into the restaurant business in South Lake Tahoe. Because of his experience with John Soule, who was our tasting room host during the early 1970s, he never forgot his first wines or John. In fact he included Pedroncelli wines on his wine list because of this encounter. I would have a hard time coming up with the number of people who have walked through the doors of our tasting room but I am sure of this: we’ll continue to pour our wines and have great conversations while you visit! Here is John Soule, Tasting Room Host extraordinaire, in 1971. From my dino to yours, cheers.

Tags: Pedroncelli, wine tasting, Vintage, Legacy
Categories:
Three Tiers

October 16, 2014 15:04

Tweet

In the wine business there are three tiers: the winery (supplier) the wholesaler (the middleman) and retail/restaurant accounts. You, my friend, may be a part of any of these layers or are the invisible ‘fourth’ tier because you could be the consumer-the one who buys the wine off the list or from the shelf. If we, Pedroncelli Winery, are known as the supplier, it follows that Classic Wine Imports is our wholesaler for Massachusetts and Wines & More a retail account buying our wine to sell to the public. Having maneuvered this system for almost 50 years, it works well for us. In fact, the bulk of our wines are sold via the three tier network. A more recent category includes DTC or the Direct to Consumer category. We have expanded over the years to reach out through Club Ped, our wine club, and through our website with an online store. We do sell direct (click here) and about 10% of our wine is sold internationally. With our production at 60,000 cases it makes the global distribution of our wines more available to you, the buying public. And the many ways to sell our wines continues to grow. My grandparents would marvel at the avenues we have available now. When they started it was ‘word of mouth’ in those early years selling wine to neighbors and friends. Now for some vino in my dino, toasting our friends far and wide who enjoy our wines. This is my dad Jim, grandfather Giovanni and uncle John circa 1965. Cheers!

Tags: Pedroncelli, family business, family, Legacy
Categories:
Pinot Noir Rules!

October 14, 2014 15:09

Tweet

23 years later science has taken more leaps and bounds, articles continue to discuss the health benefits of consuming wine. The other day my sister Lisa, who works here at Pedroncelli World Headquarters, told me she had read that Pinot Noir has the highest anti-oxidant levels than any other red wine. Hmmm—first of all, this is something that had escaped me and second of all, it is a very interesting premise. Why would one wine contain a higher level of resveratrol? It has to do with appellation according to the article. Terroir, French for the aspect of wine influenced by the vineyard’s own micro-climate (the combination of soils, climate and place), is the answer. It seems it is the ‘where’ of the Pinot Noir that is most important. Check out these links for a couple of views on both the immune system and the theory behind why Pinot Noir is ahead of the curve on resveratrol. I’ll enjoy some red wine in my Dino tonight.

Click here for the Pinot Noir mention.

Click here for immune system article.

Tags: Pedroncelli, Pinot Noir, climate
Categories:
Make Way, make way

October 9, 2014 15:14

Tweet

We don’t replant too often on our home ranch. Our 20-year-old Petite Sirah vineyard had come to an end because of an extensive virus and was pulled up last year to make way for a new planting. Before we pulled up the old fading vineyard (which was really quite lovely in the fall with its' scarlet leaves) we had already replanted a section equal in size across Canyon Creek to this grape. We now have a very healthy five year old vineyard producing some great fruit. So what do we do with this bare hillside? First we let the soil rest for over a year. Shortly after this year’s harvest, our Vineyard Manager Lance says he’ll be planting rootstock, the foundation of all vineyards. He chose St. George rootstock because it is a more vigorous one for hillsides—which can be tough on vine growth. Next we’ll have to decide what varietal we’ll want to plant. The budwood will be grafted onto the rootstock next year. We won’t expect a full crop off of this vineyard for 4-5 years and it will reach maturity in 7. Leave a comment below, and if you guess the correct varietal when the vines are planted I’ll send you a little memento.

In the photo below, the old Petite Sirah is below the yellow vines (Sangiovese) on the left. A toast to new plantings in my Dino!

Tags: Pedroncelli, Petite Sirah, vineyard, Vintage, Sangiovese
Categories:
Dear Dino 2014

October 7, 2014 15:20

Tweet

A discussion on cooking with wine from my point of view.

One of the things I learned, besides pouring myself a glass, is to keep things simple. I have loved to cook almost as many years as I have loved wine, learning from my grandmothers and mom. They always kept it simple and delicious. I'll grab an onion out of the pantry and imagine the possibilities—sometimes I don’t know what I’ll be making until the onion hits the pan. Simmering stews and pasta sauces are the perfect way to introduce some Zinfandel or Merlot-a half cup usually does it for added zip. The longer it simmers the better the flavors meld. Too short and you have some alcoholic flavors I don’t find very complementary. Or if you have some leftover Port, add a 1/4 cup to the pan after browning meat and, along with a chopped shallot and a dash of balsamic vinegar you'll have a savory sauce to pour over your pork tenderloin or chicken breast. I have found it is easiest to experiment with all kinds of wine in different dishes-chili, cakes, soups-well everything but my morning eggs that is. From my kitchen to yours, enjoy a sip in your Dino while dinner is simmering away.

Click here for some wine friendly recipes-enjoy!

Tags: Pedroncelli, Recipe, food and wine, family
Categories:
BW 113

October 2, 2014 15:26

Tweet

You could say we inherited a piece of history when my grandparents purchased the property in Geyserville in 1927. We were the second family to own a winery and vineyard here. The first one, who were also Italian, applied and received the Bonded Winery number from the Federal Government.They made wine from 25 acres of grapes for their store in North Beach in San Francisco. Why do we need a number to produce wine? "Bonded winery licenses are issued by U.S. Tax and Trade Bureau for the purpose of designating a tax-paid environment for wine." (thanks to the Wine Institute for the verbiage) This means we pay tax on wine before it leaves the winery. The amount ranges between wine made under 14% alcohol where we pay $1.07 a gallon to wines over 14% but under 21% cost $1.57 a gallon. We make around 165,000 gallons of wine each vintage, to put this in perspective.

So how did we 'inherit' the original bonded winery number? When my grandfather purchased the property mid-Prohibition he bides his time selling grapes until Repeal in 1934. He set about making wine under his name and applied to the government for the original number. He received a letter, the framed version hangs in our tasting room, granting him the use of BW-113. The heritage of this place began with the Canata family and continues through four generations of Pedroncellis, 110 years of winegrowing.

Fun fact: by 2012 there were 3754 wineries in California and 8806 in the U.S. The year I was born, 1960, there were 256 wineries in California and 500 in all of the United States. The year my grandfather started his winery there were 3 wineries in Dry Creek Valley. All these numbers make me thirsty, I'm pouring some Vino in my Dino.

Tags: Pedroncelli, family business, California, Prohibition
Categories:
Time in the Bottle

September 30, 2014 15:31

Tweet

Library wines, cellar picks, those wines you’ve saved but now don’t know how they have fared while in your closet, basement or beside your fridge. I have received many emails over the years about our wines they have found in their parent's cellar, in a dusty corner of a store or they have received as a gift. Usually the sender asks about quality of the wine giving me the vintage and name in order to find out more.

Rule of thumb when it comes to that dusty jewel from your basement: check cork for leakage, check fill level in bottle (should be ½ to 3/4 inch from cork), ask yourself what the temperature was in the storage area: constant and cool or was the wine put through the seasons with ranges in temperatures matching the cold or heat outside. Usually you'll see signs of leakage around the capsule or a low-fill level in the bottle-these don't always mean it is a lost cause but can be indicators of a wine beyond its' time.

What does an older vintage wine smell and taste like? Nothing like the 2012 Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon you just drank. Time in the bottle means some things change: ripe fruit often turns to dried fruit notes, toasty oak turns to cedar or tobacco, the wine softens as the tannins age gracefully and move on to a supporting role. The taste is different too—more delicate, less overwhelming in some cases. Aged wines aren't for everyone because so often we enjoy the flavor of wines just released or a year or too older. Here's to older vino in my Dino!

Tags: Pedroncelli, Vintage Year, Vintage Wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, wine tasting
Categories:
Harvest 2014 Ends

September 25, 2014 15:34

Tweet

To recap, we began on August 19 with Sauvignon Blanc and ended with Cabernet Sauvignon on September 24, 5 weeks and two days later. One of the great things about writing a newsletter since 1990 is I have copious copy illustrating our harvests year after year. There is quite a bit of talk about this being a super early vintage so I looked up the ‘earliest’ harvest we have recorded which is 2004 when we picked Sauvignon Blanc on August 11 and I see we brought in Cabernet Sauvignon over Labor Day weekend. We finished early in the third week of September.

This year it was a very compressed harvest for a couple of reasons: the weather stayed with us and didn’t cool off or heat up too much and some vineyards ripened ahead of schedule. For instance we picked estate Merlot before our growers harvested their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The second reason has to do with availability of picking crews. Manuel Diaz, Vineyard Foreman, said he had a steady supply of men and women to do the picking-in other years we had to wait until a full crew could be mustered, hoping the grapes would hang in there until they could bring in the fruit. While it is a few more days until we finish fermentation, here's a toast to all of our hard working crews in the vineyard and cellar on our 87th harvest!

Tags: Pedroncelli, Harvest, machine harvesting, weather, fermentation
Categories:
Pomace Me

September 23, 2014 15:40

Tweet

If I had the ability to provide scratch and sniff blog posts then I would bottle up the smell of fermenting grapes and share with the world. The pungency of these aromas is a large part of my love for harvest time and the late summer and fall in wine country. In many other areas the autumnal smell of mulch among the trees can be just as pungent after a first rain, but I am partial to the byproduct of young wine in the making. Another physical byproduct of winemaking is pomace, ahh the aromas that go back to my childhood…pungent, cloying, fruit-fly attracting. In case you didn’t know, it consists of the skins and seeds left over from the fermentation process. Upon completion, the hose is attached to the tank and drained into a wine press. The skins and seeds are separated at this time and conveyed into a truck that brings the spent skin/seed mixture to a hillside to ‘age’ or dry out. Once the pile has ‘taken the cure’ it will be used in our vineyards to provide fertilization. I remember we even used the dried pomace in the vegetable gardens, putting it around our zucchini and tomato plants to enrich the soil. All this talk of fermenting has me thirsty—I'm pouring a little vino in my Dino to toast another day.

Tags: Pedroncelli, Harvest, sustainability
Categories: