Vino In My Dino

Pillars of Pedroncelli: Farming

February 28, 2017 13:42

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.