Considering the fact that the winegrowing regions of the world are major tourist attractions, it seems kind of strange that any area would not want to officially encourage it.  After all, nobody grows wine grapes in ugly places, and there are tons of relatively affluent, extremely thirsty travelers who flock to Bordeaux, Napa, Tuscany, and similar alluring locales.

Well, the people up in Oregon don’t think like that.  At least they didn’t, until fairly recently.

Pioneers like David Lett and Dick and Nancy Ponzi spearheaded the growing of Pinot Noir in the state, but at the time, the lawmakers in Salem considered agricultural land to be just that, and commercial property to be a whole ‘nother thing.  The twain never met, zoningwise.  If you had farmland, you couldn’t put commercials buildings on it.  No wineries, no tasting rooms, no gift shops.

Dick and Nancy Ponzi

Fortunately, the Ponzis, among a few other courageous souls, lobbied the legislature to revise the laws, and while they were at it, also pushed through strict labeling requirements to protect product quality and consumer confidence.  It took a while, but they succeeded.

That was in the early 1970s.  Flash forward to the present, when the Willamette Valley (along with the Rogue, Umpqua and other regions) are turning out some of the finest Pinots anywhere, and welcoming hordes of parched patrons like you and me into their hospitality centers.  Thank you, David and Nancy.

The Ponzi Winery

As I’ve mentioned previously in these articles, people who run off to make wine come from surprisingly diverse backgrounds.  Fortunately, Dick Ponzi had been a mechanical engineer before attempting to make a small fortune in the wine business by starting with a large one.  His abilities led him to develop techniques and equipment that have become standard in the overall industry.

Now led by the next generation, the Ponzi Family winery is, like many other friends of the earth, practicing strictly sustainable farming practices, and working to preserve the charm and the products of Willamette Valley.  In fact, the estate vineyards are LIVE Certified Sustainable, the world’s highest standard for sustainable viticulture.

About that next generation.  Winemaker Luisa Ponzi enjoyed a graduate education that anyone would envy:  an apprentice gig in Beaune, followed by another with the famed Vietti vineyards in Piedmont.  It’s that Burgundian soul that gives Ponzi’s Pinot Noirs the elegance we all enjoy.

Luisa Ponzi

With a college major in Italian and a degree in music, Michael Ponzi isn’t the first person you’d think of when hiring a vineyard manager, but guess what.  Studying in France and Italy gave him the foundation he needed to direct the operations of the company, which he does, along with composing, making music, and being a general Renaissance man.

Luisa, Michael, and Maria

Maria Ponzi Fogelstrom is the family member you’ll meet at the Grand Tasting and Auction.  She’s the adventurous one, having pulled stunts like going backpacking in Borneo and who knows what else.  As the well-traveled ambassador for the family’s wines, she joined us last year and charmed the socks off of everyone.  She’ll do it again.

The Ponzis have met the challenge of growing Pinot Noir, also know as the “heartbreak grape,” in an area where everyone said it couldn’t be done.  That would be enough of an accomplishment for most of us, but they persist in expanding their ampellographic horizons (and ours) by cultivating not only Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, and Pinot Blanc, but a bit of Riesling as well, and rare Italian varietals like Arneis and Dolcetto.  And let’s not forget their Muscat-based dessert wine, Vino Gelato.  (How can you resist something called “ice cream wine?”).

Ponzi winery

Out of all that, what will Maria be pouring?  At this writing, that’s still TBD, but, if she brings anything like she did this past February, you won’t be disappointed.

If there’s one thing fine winemakers understand, it’s the relationship between humans, the grapes, and the land.  After all, fine wine starts with the fruit, and if you don’t respect where and how it’s grown, you might as well seek alternative employment.

This respect for the land, the soil, the entire ecological structure, runs throughout the winemaking world, and is well exemplified by Peter Heitz and the rest of the crew at Turnbull.  (Yes, Peter will be pouring at the Grand Tasting).

Some of the Turnbull estate vineyards

First of all, Peter has himself several great slices of land, some right in the middle of Oakville, which is right in the middle of Napa Valley, and others a bit up the road in Calistoga.  All Turnbull wines are produced from their 200 acres of estate fruit.  And everything is about as ecological and sustainable as you can get.

In caring for the soil and the earth in general, farmers and winemakers can be forgiven if they don’t pay as much attention to what’s going on above their vineyards, and to the sides.  Turnbull takes the panoramic view.

More Turnbull grapes

In addition to composting all the pomace (the grape skins and seeds left after fermentation) and putting it back on the ground, they don’t fence off their vineyards, so that native wildlife can move freely around the valley.  This is a great idea, except for the coyotes, who, characteristically, are not quite with the program.

Coyotes don’t care much for grapes, but they do like to refresh themselves by munching on the drip irrigation lines that run along the bottom of the vine trellises.  Turnbull solves this problem by building watering stations and hand filling them so that coyotes and other native wildlife are encouraged to be fruitful and multiply.

The people who do the work

And in these days of raging healthcare debate, Turnbull gives their vineyard crew permanent employment, providing full medical coverage for them and their families.

They do a lot more, but we’d be here all day.  On to the wines.

Turnbull farms five ranches in Oakville and Calistoga and takes utmost advantage of the unique characteristics provided by the fruit grown on each of them.  They’re into a bunch of varietals, too, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as a few exotics such as Malbec, Barbera, Petite Sirah, Petite Verdot, and Viognier.

Turnbull photo art gallery

The trick, according to Peter Heitz, is to capture the nuances of flavor, acidity, tannin, and aroma that each of the sites provides, and not “overpower them with heavy-handed winemaking techniques.”  You can find out how well he succeeds by joining us at the Grand Tasting and Auction in February.

“Above all,” he says, “it’s the land.”

And all those who inhabit it, large and small.