Vino In My Dino

Dear Dino

November 13, 2014 13:07

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Wine and food. Both are a passion for me. I am sure you have heard of ‘food friendly’ wines or the perfect pairing between a wine and a certain recipe. While on the road visiting my markets I talk about the relationship between the two quite a bit. It comes up in conversation especially when presenting wines at a restaurant account. Retailers are also interested because it helps them with customer service. When someone arrives at 5pm looking for dinner wine, they can offer choices that will go well with the meal. I learned a few years ago that one of the best ways to pair wine with food is this: a foundation of fat, fat and a little more fat. I am going overboard here but make sure there is some fat in the dish to build a bridge between the flavors whether it is butter in a sauce, a rich stew or a nicely marbled steak. I think this is why cheese is such a good choice when it comes to a great pairing with wine. These richer foods blend nicely with a wine framed by acidity and medium tannins. When a wine is in balance (the definition of a food friendly wine) there won’t be a battle between the two in your mouth. From my kitchen to yours, eat and drink well.

Here are some of my suggested pairings with our Merlot- explore our recipe index for more ideas

Tags: Pedroncelli, food and wine, Recipe, Merlot
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VIMD On The Road

November 11, 2014 13:10

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I ventured to Orlando last month for the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. I met many wine fans from around the nation following the seminars where we presented three of our wines to a thirsty crowd. While there was a small glitch at the beginning of the first seminar (I was given the wrong time and was ‘on’ 2 hours earlier than expected) it forced me to get with the program quickly. And I was thankful my husband Ed was a co-speaker-it showed how 25 years of marriage, 12 of them working together at the winery, can help us deliver the Pedroncelli message on the fly. We walked the groups through the seasons at the winery and highlighted how three generations of the family have worked together to make our wines accessible, great values and approachable. Pedroncelli is Italian for ‘over-deliver’ after all. I shared my VIMD story and asked the group to think of the first time they became passionate about wine-their first sip of homemade wine, Chardonnay or Champagne. Wine is a great conversation starter whether you are around the dining room table or on the patio. Start one today about when and where you tasted your first sip in the comments below!

Tags: Pedroncelli, Market Work, Italian, wine tasting
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The Fab Five

November 6, 2014 13:18

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For many years the defining varietal in Dry Creek Valley was Zinfandel-for at least 100 years. This was back when there were no appellations, just grapegrowers carving out a spot for their vineyards. The area known as Dry Creek Valley was always very hospitable to agriculture, the reports go back to the mid 1800s when the land grants were being established and people came to make a living and sustain their families on very fertile land. We went from the top planted varietals in 1883 (just over 800 acres): Zinfandel, Mission, Malvoise (what?), Golden Chasselas (what what?) and White Riesling to these top five planted here today: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. There are many other varieties, almost beyond count, including Rhone and Italian varietals planted along with these well-established grapes. They have all found their niche, being grown on the best hills or valley floor according to the type of grape, the soil below and the climate above. My home valley is still thriving with over 9000 acres of grapes, a handful of orchards, olive trees and home gardens. I’ll toast the bounty with my Dino-join me.

Here's Merlot on our Bench Vineyard, ripe and ready to pick during the 2012 harvest-and in the bottle now!

Tags: Pedroncelli, Dry Creek Valley, varietals, Harvest, vineyard
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Boomer, Manzanita and Yolo oh my!

November 4, 2014 13:24

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Soil is the bedrock of all vineyards. Pun intended. While we talk quite a bit about weather, climate, and place, it really is the ground under our feet playing a very important role in growing a vineyard. Too much clay will mire the vine in rock hard soil, not enough and all the water will slip away. The combinations found within our 16 mile by 2 mile appellation are many layered and diverse. Now comes the high school geology part: Metamorphic, Igneous and Sedimentary soils all play their part in growing grapes. Metamorphic soils like Boomer Loam and Suther Loam reside in the benches off the valley floor and you would see streaks of red here and there. Great for Cabernet Sauvignon. Igneous soils are gravelly or rocky (DCV Rocks!) and include Manzanita Gravelly Silt Loam and Clough Gravelly Loam, found in the hills and Zinfandel does well here. Sedimentary soils are the rich soft soils of the valley floor and are rich in minerals and well drained. Yolo Loam and Cortina Very Gravelly Loam are found here and grows tasty Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. For more information you can check with the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley who put together this information. Rock on, Dry Creek Valley. I’ll toast to geology, making great wines since time began!

Our Mother Clone Zinfandel vineyard last winter showing it's Igneous side.

Tags: Pedroncelli, vineyard, Mother Clone, Dry Creek Valley
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Playing with History

October 31, 2014 14:17

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Artifacts are easy to come by at Pedroncelli since we have been here for 87 years. When I was growing up in our home, which later on became the sales and marketing office, we found a number of things to play with or at least be curious about that my grandfather had accrued over the years. I remember visiting the old barn in back, a little creepy but loaded with discarded tractor parts, winery equipment and history. We have a few items on display in the Tasting Room, an old hand corker as well as a mold for wine bottles. Some of our historical items are destined for display at the Smithsonian (see October 23rd’s post). While we weren’t one of those families to take out the camera and record every moment in our winery history, we do have a few photos around. One of my favorites is a candid shot of my grandfather hosting some guests and they took the photo in front of the old tank building. He built our first tasting room, originally a corner of the bottling room in our cellar, to showcase his wines. He carved out some precious space and put up shelves to carry the products he was so proud of and loved to pour for his friends. Even our friends.red is a tip of the hat to those days when he would take a bottle into the cellar and bring back “Giovanni’s Red” in a gallon jug. We also enjoy pointing out we operated the first Tasting Room in Dry Creek Valley! Enjoy this look into our past and raise a glass to my grandfather’s memory and heritage in our corner of the valley.

Tags: Pedroncelli, Legacy, family business, family, Dry Creek Valley
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Pedroncelli at The Smithsonian

October 23, 2014 14:25

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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
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A Tale of Two Tasters

October 21, 2014 14:59

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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
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Three Tiers

October 16, 2014 15:04

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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
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Pinot Noir Rules!

October 14, 2014 15:09

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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
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Make Way, make way

October 9, 2014 15:14

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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
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