dry creek valley

Cellar Update: Business as Usual in Unusual Times

April 16, 2020 16:10

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Like the birds singing and the vines pushing leaves, the wines in the cellar don’t notice our shelter in place orders and cellar life goes on as usual in an unusual time. And cellar work like bottling and barrel work are considered essential and we are allowed by the state of California to carry on with production. Without this support I am not sure how our wines and vineyards would survive a long pause in the middle of things.

Our team, pictured above, include winemaker Montse Reece along with cellarmaster Polo Cano on the right and cellar assistant Beto Cortez. April is the height of production for them and knowing how important it is to keep on schedule when it comes to bottling, I asked winemaker Montse Reece to give me an idea of what goes into the preparation. Here is a step by step glimpse at what it takes when she works with the team to ready the wines:

“First I make sure we are going to have everything we need for bottling on time: glass, corks, labels, capsules. In the cellar the wine in question has to be blended, fined (in the case of reds), stabilized (for whites and rosé) and filtered. Editor's note: The tank pictured here is being cold stabilized-which means chilled close to freezing to drop the tartrates out-if it wasn't cold stabilized you would get 'wine diamonds' which are harmless and definitely don't taste good.

Before the wine gets to be bottled I run all the analysis: acidity, pH, alcohol, volatile acidity, malic acid, residual sugars, sulphur, specific gravity, CO2 and make any final adjustments if needed.

A few days before bottling, Cellarmaster Polo Cano will filter the wine. We use a crossflow filter. After that he and his crew will sanitize the line and get it ready for bottling. On the morning of bottling day the filler bowl, housing and filters are sterilized for 20 min at 180F. Polo does the sterilization by combining hot water and steam.

Once we start bottling, Polo and I do line checks, the first check is at the beginning (7:30 am) with three more spanning the day. We check the oxygen concentration inside the empty bottle before it enters the filler bowl as well as the dissolved oxygen in the wine once it is in the bottle, the vacuum pressure in the corks or the torque pressure in the screw caps, wine temperature, fill levels and pressure on the filters.”

So many layers of checking and cross checking happen with each and every wine bottled, and remember we make 21 different wines, and what does this mean for you? It delivers a bottle of wine with great attention to detail and the resulting consistent quality. These wines will be released over the next few months just as we are coming out of our shelter in place. As time moves on so does Mother Nature and continues to bring us warmer weather. More of our wines will be bottled and the vines will march toward vintage 2020.

Tags: Pedroncelli, Pandemic, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley, COVID19, wine
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Postcards From Home

April 10, 2020 09:48

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Postcards from Home

I send my grandsons postcards from the road when I travel on business and of course when we are on vacation. I thought I would share ‘postcards’ from home with you.

I’ll take you all on a walk around the winery and vineyards for some spring views, sharing the beauty we are experiencing in my former home and surroundings.

As I have indicated spring is definitely in place around the winery and vineyard and Easter seemed like a good time to share the hopeful sense that nature and the season brings to us.

The 2020 vintage is in place and beginning to show among the vines with budbreak beginning in mid-March and followed by first leaves. The natural progression and timing has the vineyard right on time for this part of the growing season. We received a couple of inches of rain in April which helps keep the vines happy and without damage to the new growth.

In other areas around the winery the hills are a soft green and show the promise of spring in the flora and fauna around us. Nice warm days are ahead and all the more opportunity to get out and enjoy these moments, even virtually.

Hope does spring eternal as the curve is flattened, we stay at home connecting in different ways with our friends and family, and knowing that nature hasn’t recognized we are at a stopgap and will continue her march toward summer and fall without fail-bringing great hope to me and I hope to you.

Tags: Pedroncelli, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, Pandemic, COVID19, Springtime, Easter, note from home
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Varietal of the Year: King Cabernet Sauvignon

April 9, 2020 10:06

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I am focusing on our other flagship wine this year: Cabernet Sauvignon. Did you know it is the most widely planted wine grape in California? Here are my thoughts on what makes this varietal special, thriving here in Dry Creek Valley Sonoma County.

First up, the stats: Cabernet Sauvignon is king of wine grape acreage in California with 93,241 (bearing and non-bearing) total acres. It bested its’ rival Chardonnay by 93 acres. By comparison, about five years ago, there were 6000 more acres of Chardonnay than Cabernet Sauvignon-just in case you are keeping score. In Sonoma County (12,090 acres) it is the second most widely planted, with Pinot Noir almost equal and both bested by Chardonnay as the number one most planted grape. Dry Creek Valley, where Cabernet rises to the top winning the title of ‘most widely planted’ with 3200 acres, reigns as #1.

Now for a bit of Dry Creek Valley wine grape history. The first grapes were planted, Zinfandel among them, in the mid-1800s with wineries following in 1872. The area burgeoned with production right up until Prohibition ended commercial winemaking in 1919. During this dry time many of the vineyards were pulled out by grape growers in order to make a living and were replaced by fruit trees and other crops (this area was known as the buckle on the Prune Belt for this very reason). Once Repeal made it legal to make wine again it took some time to get back into the business of developing a market, planting vineyards, and took a World War to engage the nation’s palate again. While my grandfather already had zinfandel and petite sirah on the home ranch he dabbled in planting Riesling and Pinot Noir among others.

It wasn’t until sons John and Jim bought five acres on West Dry Creek Road in 1965 that they became the first growers in the valley to plant Cabernet Sauvignon. They saw an appreciation for this varietal from those who served overseas and had become acquainted with the wines of France and Italy. Now they wanted to give customers a wine they appreciated. This vineyard would become known as our Wisdom vineyard. Beginning with this vineyard we learned over the next 5 decades what it takes to get the best out of this grape. We now farm 31 acres along the bench and valley floor. If there is a site specific grape I believe this is it.

What makes Cabernet Sauvignon distinctive from our vineyard and valley? The location for one. Our estate vineyards are located in the northern end of the valley. Wisdom is on the valley floor on the ‘dry’ western side of the valley and our Three Vineyards and Block 007 are on an eastern bench across the way where the soils are gravelly loam with great drainage. Another distinction is in the trellising. Finding the right vine systems to maintain production and canopy are important because the vigor of the vineyard can get in the way of ripening. Canopy and crop management become key to a wine with a quality fruit profile. Cabernet Sauvignon needs sun to ripen and a long growing season. Dry Creek Valley’s climate is here to help with its’ ideal number of warm degree days paired with the all-important marine layer, cooling down the grapes at night. Both are the foundation of fruit development maintaining aromatics, acidity and balance. Hallmarks of our Cabernet Sauvignon show flavors of plum and berry fruit combined with tobacco or sage notes (Winemaker Montse Reece describes this as ‘greenier’) and wrapped in a firm core of tannin or 'grip' as John Pedroncelli would call it.

The combination of site specific planting, aspects of climate and soil, picking at the right moment after the desired hang time-Cabernet is usually one of the last grapes harvested-and, once at the winery, the choices of oak and aging give you a Cabernet Sauvignon you can enjoy upon release or has the staying power for the cellar. Either way it is fitting to consider the wisdom gained over 55 years of farming the king of red wine grapes.

Tags: Pedroncelli, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, Cabernet Sauvignon
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Note From Home: Holding Steady

April 2, 2020 08:48

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We’ve been knee deep before-take a look at my uncle John standing knee deep in a flood-this is right outside of our cellar some 60 years ago. We’ve seen a few decades of challenge, we’re farmers after all and are holding steady. This current crisis, while we stay at home and do our best to keep our heads above water, is another challenge much like the Great Depression, recession, fires, or 9/11.

What did we do when met with those challenges? We held steady and found ways to deal with the situations. My grandparents, who had just bought the property two years ahead of the Great Depression and in the middle of Prohibition, managed by working the farm to support their young family as well as selling the grapes to make a modest living. My dad Jim created friends.red to offer a recession-friendly priced wine and found a spot for grapes without having to pull out vineyard. Two years of major fires tested us and made us more resilient-bringing the community together. And the 9/11 tragedy brought the country together.

One of the joys of writing these notes are the responses I am receiving from you. You inspire me with your stories and memories, you’re keeping busy with eyes to the future and the end of this thing called Shelter in Place. Here are some snippets of the comments and observations:

We are hanging in there discovering how to clean closets, walk together and talk to one another. It will pass and maybe we all can learn from this.

We are hanging in there. I am bored sitting at home. Over 40 years of making (sales) calls and now a different world.

We are using this time to relax but be productive, too, because once we can bust out into the real world, I’m planning to visit as many restaurants as possible and get back to the gym!

Wisdom from a 70+ year old friend: "What is this teaching me?" For me it's teaching me to be resourceful with what I have. I have a garden that feeds us. A refrigerator full of main staples. A sink with running water. A husband that can still provide. Two sons. One now living in with us and the other getting home safely from Brazil and quarantining in the bay area for 2 weeks and soon will join the clan. My love language is cooking. So this is where your wine comes in...I open a bottle of Pedroncelli wine, play some country music in the kitchen and create a yummy, intentional and nutritional meal for my family. That scenario is my solace, my peace of mind. Thank you Julie for your heartfelt and authentic correspondence.

As a healthcare worker in Washington State I am directly involved in caring for patients who are infected I would just like to say thank you. You and all the others who are sheltering at home are all playing a big part in beating this beast. We will get through it! I have a trip to Sonoma County tentatively planned for June and am hoping and praying it will happen as planned. I can't wait to drink some Friends with friends. Stay well.

I'm inspired to spend this time to be more productive in my writing, I've cleaned out my 'closet' of files, I'm spending time being thankful for what I have, learning to be patient while waiting to hug my grandsons (especially my newest one), following Shelter in Place orders because it will help end this, and holding onto hope for gathering together again.

What does it take to hold steady? How about courage and wisdom. It takes courage to be a farmer and producer to get through this time, it takes courage to rally the forces around us, be creative and not be overwhelmed. It takes wisdom to know 'this too shall pass' and learn what this situation is teaching us and then passing this wisdom along. Hold steady, hold tight and hold on-6 feet apart.

Tags: Pedroncelli, Pandemic, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, COVID19, Holding steady, note from home
Categories: pedroncelli
Pantry and Wine Friendly Recipes for a Pandemic

April 1, 2020 14:08

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In a recent post I mentioned I was trying to come up with wine tips-outside of hand sanitizer-and cooking with it was one of them along with what I have learned about the chemistry of using wine in a sauce. I have gathered hundreds of recipes over the years and always strive for what I call 'pantry friendly' recipes-you know, the ones where you don't have to go to a specialty store to buy an ounce of caviar.

Let’s begin with one of my favorite recipes because polenta is a comfort food I grew up with-think of it as Italian grits. Parmesan Polenta with Sausage Ragu

I found this recipe while searching for easy dinners and while it takes a little bit of time between cooking the sauce and the polenta, Sunday dinner anyone?, this brings simple ingredients together deliciously. Here are a few photos when I made this not long ago.

Here are a few tips: buy fresh basil-nothing like fresh to give a dish the best taste but in a pinch use dried basil-a teaspoon of dried to a tablespoon of fresh herbs. I buy the better grade canned tomatoes-but whatever you have on hand should work. Regarding the type of sausage, I like spicy but you can use the sweet Italian type and will still work, you can also replace pork sausage with turkey sausage very easily.

Your pantry, my pantry-there may be a difference in what you keep or have on hand. Sometimes Ed just shakes his head at my ‘substitutions’ and I admit they don’t always create the same recipe. Don’t be afraid to be creative-if you don’t have leeks use onions. If you don’t have ground turkey use ground beef. Cooking at home doesn’t have to be difficult. Follow the instructions, measure out the ingredients, take your time-we have a lot of it these days. Planning ahead-there’s another tip. Pre-COVID119 I would go to the store almost daily after work to get a quick weeknight dinner together. Secretly I love grocery shopping but let’s keep that between us. Now I plan ahead to go to the store twice a week so I am following our shelter in place order.

Now, besides the tips I received about ways to use up wine, like turning leftover wine into ice cubes and later on using them in sauces or drinking the same wine you used in the recipe at dinner, I also received a question about the bank of recipes I have stored on our website-I have been adding to the different categories for many years. I am a recipe hound and have collected quite a few from many sources including family, staff, newspapers, local chefs, authors and recipe sites. Here are some of my favorites and I hope they become yours!

You know the can of chickpeas taking up a spot in the cupboard? Dress it up by roasting them-use as a snack or in a salad for lots of flavor: Spice Roasted Chickpeas

This soup is a staple in our household-spicy, tummy filling and healthy: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Alternately this soup uses up lots of veggies, the kitchen sink approach: Minestrone

Here is a simple, tasty and easy dinner idea: Chicken and Rice Pilaf

My mom Phyllis has been making a version of this for many years-both Mom and I find we do it a bit differently each time: Chicken Scallopini a la Phyllis

Here is a family favorite from our pre-empty nest days-I found this in Adrienne’s cookbook for kids. Easy, flavorful and filling-the trifecta of the perfect family recipe-use beef and make it Sloppy Joes: Sloppy Toms

Each month I send out an enewsletter and part of it includes 2-3 recipes I find that are wine friendly. If you’d like to be on the email list let me know and send to julie@pedroncelli.com I'll sign off here like I do in the column: don’t forget the vino!

Tags: Pedroncelli, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, Recipes, Homecooking, Pandemic, COVID19
Categories: pedroncelli
A Note From Home: Hanging in There

March 27, 2020 15:13

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Are you hanging in there? What are some surprises you’ve found (and I don’t mean the dust bunny under the sofa)? Have you discovered the next million-dollar idea? Have you found more or less time to get those projects done or have you developed your Zoom family and see you need to clean up the clutter behind you? Zoom has become the way people are reaching out these days whether via a Virtual Cocktail Party or playing a game with family members who are physically distanced. I visited with Joe Glunz Jr the other day. He is the President of our Illinois based distributor Louis Glunz Inc. talked about his family gathering virtually this Sunday. They will all make the same dish at the same time for dinner. Not a big deal? He has 9 siblings and his parents spread from the west to east coast. What a fun thing to do!

Thanks to all who responded after checking in with you last week. I heard from at least 16 states, multiples from each, as far away as Vermont and as close to home as one of our growers and neighbor Larry Giovannoni. I can see Larry’s house from my office window by the way. I learned what some of you do for a living (a book editor, a nurse & fellow introvert, a first responder and one of our longtime retailers to mention just a few) and you all are hanging in there with an abundance of stories to tell once this is over.

I was trying to come up with some wine tips to offer during this time as we are all hanging out. While wine isn’t the best hand sanitizer (maybe a little Chardonnay but no Zinfandel-those telltale stains would give it away) it certainly can be used in cooking. I have used wine since I began experimenting in the kitchen. In the beginning I didn’t ‘cook off’ the alcohol in the wine and it gave dishes a ‘raw’ taste. One of my first experiments was mushrooms sauteed in red wine '#kitchenfail', they were inedible. I have learned to take time. When adding wine to a pan sauce and cooked for a few minutes it will do the trick, or if making a ragu the hour or more on the stove-mission accomplished. Wine does add a different level of flavor, different than herbs and spices. If you have a few ounces left in a bottle keep it around-you never know what recipe will inspire you and adding a bit of white or red wine will make the flavors fuller. Ed added a splash of Sauvignon Blanc to his Turkey Stroganoff the other night-that little something extra enhanced this dish.

So, hang in there. There is a light at the end of this tunnel, most likely in a few more weeks. Right now summer is looking pretty good. Warmer days, gardens beginning to give up their first fruits, family get togethers and the biggest St. Patrick’s Day/Easter/Mother’s Day/Memorial Day celebration ever.

Update on the tasting room and curbside pick-up: Are you a local? We can fulfill online and telephone orders with curbside pick-up. We’ll be open for limited days and hours for now. Visit here for more information.

Tags: Pedroncelli, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, cooking with wine, note from home
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A Note From Home: How Are You Doing?

March 21, 2020 09:25

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A Note from Home

So how are you doing? I hope this finds you coping with the new restrictions in our lives-! I know many, many things have been cancelled or rescheduled for another time. Are you catching up on personal correspondence? Tackling those household projects you’ve put off like painting the bathrooms or adding a she shed? Homeschooling your kids? I personally will be reading more, walking more with #JasperWineDog-who by the way loves us working from home-he thinks we are on vacation and totally ignores the virus thing. I’ll do more home cooking while also supporting our local restaurants for take-out and of course enjoy a glass of wine or two while kicking back in the evenings.

How are you? This simple phrase seems so much more important now as we are physically distanced from each other and our daily lives. I typically write this note from my office, my former bedroom in my childhood home, which overlooks our Mother Clone zinfandel vineyard. Today I am writing from my own home in Healdsburg with a view of spring burgeoning in the new leaves on the oak trees and birds singing just outside.

For me yesterday was a wonderful day because two things happened: I have a new grandson and my niece Sarah (Lisa & Lance’s daughter) was married-in Brazil of all places-they watched the ceremony at 6am that morning from their home. Galen Kurt Edwin Rule was born a few hours later. 3/20/20 will be remembered with joy amidst such a time and I look forward to hugging him once this is over-I am thankful for our ease of communication so I can see all the fingers and toes and make sure mom Adrienne is okay and dad Jason is holding the baby correctly.

While we hunker down with loved ones I know there are many challenges ahead. Those parents with kids home for the long term-I received an email yesterday from a mom who had our wine at their wedding and now, 9 years later, has kids home and needed a case of wine to smooth the rough edges! (pretty sure my own parents would have gone crazy with the four of us girls bouncing off the walls). Work and the interruption of regular life is a challenge and a change. If you are at home alone reach out to neighbors who might also feel alone-keeping your distance of course! You know Wilson had it right by visiting over the back fence. If we keep socially connected in our age of technology we’ll know we are not alone.

How are we doing at the winery? The Governor of California has put the whole state from tip to top in a Stay at Home order. Our trade group Wine Institute just confirmed that, while our tasting room remains closed, the new order allows winery and vineyard operations to continue under the Food and Agriculture Sector critical infrastructure plan. We can keep things going in the vineyard and cellar! Probably more important to you is that we are still processing and shipping orders. While we can’t offer tastings, we are working on how to do “take-out” at the winery. Stay tuned for developments. Meanwhile we wouldn’t want our friends and neighbors to run out of wine. If you’d like us to ship you some wine click here.

Until the next time, keep healthy, stay inside and reach out even if just an email or call! julie@pedroncelli.com or 707-857-3531.

Stay well and don’t forget the vino. Julie

Tags: COVID19, Pedroncelli, Dry Creek Valley, Courage Zinfandel, Wisdom Cabernet Sauvignon, note from home, Sonoma County, Pandemic
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Heat & the Vine

June 28, 2017 16:40

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What happens in the vineyard when summer hasn’t even begun and we have one of the hottest days on record? On Sunday June 18^th the temperature hit 110 degrees in our little corner of Dry Creek Valley. The days that followed were not much better and the mercury wavered between the mid 90s to over 100 degrees again on Thursday. This pre-summer heat wave definitely had my attention.

I was curious-what does happen to the vines as it gets unseasonably hot? It isn’t the first time the month of June has seen this heat and it does some good to know the following week we had our fog back in the evenings with pleasant temps in the low 80s. I asked our Vineyard Manager Lance Blakeley to explain a few things to me. How does he prepare? What happens to the fruit? Was it a good time to have a heat wave?

First of all he was ready for the heat-farmers are always weather watchers and he and the crew prepared the vineyard for what was coming by drip irrigating the ranches, which totals 105 acres. This in and of itself helped the vines to survive the brutal heat which hit on the 18^th. The fruit was protected by the canopy of canes and leaves. There was little to no scorching of the green berries. If there was a good time to have a heat wave this was it-if it had occurred during bloom time we would have a more drastic story to tell.

I learned something too. The leaves actually move to cover either the stem or the fruit, whichever is in danger of scorching. One way to test if the vine is keeping cool is to feel the leaves-if they are cool then they are safe. If they are warm to the touch then they need some help as they’ll begin to wilt and become overwhelmed by the heat. Kind of like people-we wilt when it becomes too hot and just want a cool drink of water. The good news is, with temperatures rising in the first week of July, the vineyards are acclimated to the heat by this first wave. Here's to the vines and the hard working crew who takes care of them with a splash of Rosé of Zinfandel in my Dino!

Tags: Heat wave, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley, Vine, vineyard, Zinfandel
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