The phrase "family winery" gets bandied about quite a bit in wine circles, with corporate producers like Mondavi, Kendall-Jackson, and Gallo hoping to gain "street cred" with high-end wine lovers by playing up its family history. The Robert Mondavi Winery's web site pays homage to patriarch Robert Mondavi but makes no reference to its actual parent, the global conglomerate Constellation Brands, which sells or markets more than 250 brands of wine, beer and spirits worldwide.

Fifty years ago, family wineries dotted every acre of Sonoma's wine country. Today, the biggest names may sound small and family-focused, but wine lovers have to do their homework to find the vineyards where the name on the bottle and the name of the owner are one and the same.

We found two Sonoma family-run vineyards where the third generation was firmly in charge. Coincidentally-or, maybe not—they were both founded by Italian immigrants early in the 20th century.

Pedroncelli Winery and Pellegrini Family Vineyards are, in many ways, throwbacks to an earlier time. While thoroughly modern in winemaking techniques, marketing, and management, they retain a passion for the business lacking at the big, corporate wineries.

We were fortunate to have private tours of the wineries with family members Julie Pedroncelli St. John and Bob Pellegrini.  Each was a valuable and memorable learning experience.

Pellegrini Family Vineyards
Owner and winemaker Bob Pellegrini met us at the lovely-but freezing-tasting room and took us on a trip down memory lane—literally, He walked us through vineyards with decades of family history. The 65-acre Olivet Lane Estate is Pellegrini's dominant Vineyard, home to Chardonnay (2/3) and Pinot (1/3.)

Bob led us over to a row of beautiful vines and explained the vinicultural techniques that his family had perfected, including selective leaf pruning for shading or exposure to sun.  The grapes, though still young, were plentiful and just starting to turn a deep violet.

Adjacent to Olivet is the Eight Cousins vineyard, overflowing with 100-year-old clone Zinfandel vines. Zin-nuts Gary and Lisa looked longingly at these old vines and couldn't wait to get a taste of the wine produced from them.

What We Tasted

• Sauvignon Blanc 2006    Pear and melon on the nose; slightly grassy. Lisa commented that this wine reminded her of many of the Marlborough (New Zealand) Sauvignon Blanc wines she enjoyed
• Pellegrini 2006 Chardonnay    A light Chardonnay with bright fruit notes, peaches, honeysuckle, melon
• Olivet Lane Estate 2005 Chardonnay    Traditional Chardonnay with good balance of fruit and depth, some hints of creaminess
• Pellegrini 2006 Rosato   Delightful; just the right consistency
• Olivet Lane 2065 Estate Pinot Noir    Spectacular
• Cloverdale Ranch Merlot 2004    Strong, rich aroma. Pepperoncini on the nose; an outstanding Merlot well worth trying and buying!
• Pellegrini 2005 Carignan: No outstanding comments... other than trying too hard to taste like a Bordeaux-style wine
• Cloverdale Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2004    Excellent! depth, good tannin structure made this wine supple and rich throughout the tasting
• Cloverdale Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2002    Delicious...Not as sophisticated as the 2004
• Pellegrini Zinfandel 2005       Fruit on the nose, deep berries and pepper through on the palate and most importantly, incredibly delicious.
  

What We Bought

• 2 Cabernet 2004    $24
• 3 Merlot                 $22
• 3 Zinfandel             $24
• 2 Pinot                   $30
  

Pedroncelli Winery
By the time we finished our two-hour tour and tasting at the Pedroncelli winery we were ready to be adopted by this great winemaking family!  For 80 years the Pedroncellis have produced wine from this lovely setting in the Dry Creek Valley. Julie Pedroncelli St. John grew up on the property; today her office is her former bedroom. Friendly, down-to-earth, knowledgeable, and gracious, Julie was a terrific host and storyteller.

Our tour of the property took us through the Mother Clone Vineyard where Julie pointed to some of the original vines planted by her grandfather John Sr. over 70 years ago.  These old vines produce small quantities of intense fruit that are combined with younger cloned (St. George rootstock) vines to produce the Mother Clone Zinfandel.  Unlike other wineries in the Dry Creek Valley, Pedroncelli planted Sangiovese grapes and have produced a nice "pizza wine" (our term) at the right price. We look forward to a more sophisticated wine in future vintages as these grapes mature.  

The tour of the winemaking facility led us through one of the original winemaking rooms with giant redwood tanks.  Today these tanks are used for temporary overflow.  The facility includes the typical screw press crush machinery and the newer bladder system which seems to work well with white wine varietals.  The barrel room is kept at 65-68 degrees with 75% humidity.

We learned a lot about the art and science of winemaking from Julie. But what came through more than anything is that at Pedroncelli, the love of winemaking and dedication to the land is evident in the great care they put into each bottle.  That dedication is evidenced not only by the family but also by the staff, most of who have been with Pedroncelli for more than 20 years.

What We Tasted

• Sauvignon Blanc 2006    Thin, not memorable
• Chardonnay, Dry Creek Valley 2005    Light, closer to a Sauvignon Blanc
• Zinfandel Rosé 2006    The winery's 52nd vintage; full-flavored, full-bodied. Fruity but not too sweet. A perfect Rosé
• Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley 2005
• Sangiovese 2002    Lovely pizza wine but "hotter'' than Gary would have liked
• Mother Clone Zinfandel 2004    Outstanding! Complex, smoky; Huge fruit, dry finish
• Pedroni-Bushnell 2002 (single Vineyard, 100% Zin)        Just the second year for this young Vineyard; big and jammy now, but will cellar for 5-7 years
• Three Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
• Vintage Port 2002        Four different Portuguese varietals blended for a true Port
  

What We Bought

• 2 Zinfandel Rosé        $10
• 2 Mother Clone Zin    $14
• 2 Vintage Port            $16