Vino In My Dino

The Top Nine of 2019

December 20, 2019 16:31

As we begin the New Year reflecting on what took place last year is a good place to start. The Top Nine of 2019 covers many accomplishments and challenges, which is how a year typically goes. Just like life!

9 We celebrated 92 years in July-marking the anniversary of the day my grandfather Giovanni Pedroncelli signed the papers for this special place in Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County.

8 The Smithsonian connection. Over 10 years ago we had one of our photos in an exhibit at the Museo Italiano in San Francisco. That connection led the curators at the American History Museum to seek us out so they could include that photo in their Food Transforming America exhibit-still going strong after 10 years. In fact they just refreshed the exhibit and included items the family had loaned to the museum-captured in the title photo of this post. Visit Food Transforming America when you are in Washington DC-wine is indeed a part of the transformation.

7 Our Mission-we crafted our thoughts into a statement capturing the past, present and future: We are a Sonoma County farming family, founded in 1927, sharing our legacy through sustainably-produced exceptional wines.

6 My parents Jim & Phyllis celebrated 60 years together last February-you wouldn’t know it by looking at them but they are over 60 years old. While my dad grew up here and has worked in the winery from the ground up (literally) my mom married into the family in 1959. She was in integral part of the business as my dad and his brother bought the winery from their parents in 1963. Mom helped out in the office and during harvest as well as kept tabs on me and my sisters-station wagons, after school activities, weekend outings and more kept us all in line. Cheers to many more as 60 years is quite an accomplishment!

5 The 2019 harvest was the fifth for Montse Reece as winemaker-she was first hired in 2007 as assistant winemaker and worked with John Pedroncelli. She became winemaker in early 2015. Did you know that only 11% of the winemakers in California are women? Cheers to many more vintages and women joining the ranks!

4 Four generations of one family calling this corner of Dry Creek Valley our home. We continue to strive for excellence with fourth generation member Mitch Blakeley heading up our Sustainability program, leading the way for future generations to call this home as well.

3 The king of red wine grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon, has quite the presence on our estate vineyards at one third of the acreage planted. I consider it our ‘2nd’ flagship grape as we were the first to plant and maintain it in Dry Creek Valley. The varietal is now the top planted red wine grape in the valley-coincidence? I think not.

2 We are celebrating the 2nd year of our Gratitude Vine displayed in our Tasting Room. So many people have added their thanks for a wide variety of subjects-family, friends, pets and kids and good health. A toast to another year of gratitude for all of our friends both new and old.

1 Zinfandel is always number one with us. It is an iconic grape here in Dry Creek Valley and our flagship. We received some nice accolades for all three of our red Zins as well as our Rosé on our recent releases. We are dedicated to this iconic grape and wine-cheers to 2020!

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Vino In My Dino

The Top Nine of 2019

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