April 2020 - On The Wine Road

The Oregon Interviews – Willamette Valley Wineries

Back in December – before sheltering in place and when corona referred to a type of crown or the glow around the sun – my wife and I spent a week up and down Oregon’s Willamette Valley. It was cool, with light rain and occasional heavy fog…and we loved it.

Prior to our trip I set up several interviews. You’ll meet Lynn, the dynamic former owner of Penner-Ash; Bryan and Laura Laing, the fun-loving owners of Hazelfern Cellars; and Luisa, from one of the oldest Oregon family wineries, Ponzi Vineyards. Each guest expressed their love for Willamette Valley and the wine they craft. As always, their stories are entertaining and distinctly different from one another.

Like many wineries I have promoted in Northern California, the Penner-Ash, Hazelfern and Ponzi Vineyards are offering specials to tempt wine lovers to connect virtually and keep your shelves and cellars full of quality wine. Here’s what they’re offering:

Penner-Ash:

Virtual Tastings – Experience Penner-Ash wines from the comfort of your home – virtually! By reservations, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11am-4pm. Please contact hospitality@pennerash.com or 503.554.5545 to schedule your experience!

Drive-up Service – Place your wine order a minimum of 24 hours in advance and schedule a direct-to-trunk pick up from the winery on Tuesdays and Saturdays between 11:00 and 3:00. Please contact cellarclub@pennerash.com or 707.292.4153.

Social Connection – We invite you to follow us on Instagram (@pennerashpinot) and join us on Facebook for the latest happenings and to help you stay connected.

Hazelfern Cellars:

Wine To-Go Curbside Pick-Up: We are at the winery from 11am – 4pm Wednesday-Sunday for curbside wine pick-ups. E-mail us, Message us on Instagram or Facebook, or call us at 503-928-1893 to schedule a pick-up or ask any questions.

Complimentary Local Delivery: Click Here to order wines for local delivery within 30 miles of Newberg, Oregon with a 3-bottle minimum purchase. Choose “Complimentary Local Delivery” at check-out.

MAKE SOCIAL DISTANCING GREAT! ENJOY THE HAZELFERN EXPERIENCE AT HOME:

Simple Pantry Recipes and Wine Pairings: We are posting simple and delicious “pantry recipes” on Instagram and Facebook. Follow along for easy-to-make recipes using simple ingredients that pair perfectly with our wines.

Tunes from the Wine Barn: Enjoy our “Hazelfern #Winelife” playlist on Spotify. A collection of our favorite wine drinking tunes… play them loud, friends!

Ponzi Vineyards:

Social Sip – A virtual tasting experience for friends, family and work colleagues.

Curbside Service – Gloved staff will deliver wine to your car, maintaining 6 feet social distancing at all times. Please contact the winery directly so your package will be ready. Shop for wines here.

20% off all wine – plus $10 flat rate shipping on all orders. Promo code: Ponziathome. Excludes single vineyard and library wines.

Local Wine Delivery – On Tuesdays and Thursdays. Available on 6+ bottles or more, within a 20 miles from winery. Orders must be received by 11am. $10 delivery fee applies.

This is a great opportunity for you to try Oregon wines. Now, click Play to hear their stories.

Penner-Ash, enveloped in fog

My wife Meredith in the cozy hospitality space at Penner-Ash

The enterprising Lynn Penner-Ash

The fermentation and barrel room within the gravity flow production facility designed by Lynn Penner-Ash

Inside the winery barn at Hazelfern Cellars

The fun-loving Bryan & Laura and daughters

Sitting fireside with winemaker and family member, Luisa Ponzi

Ponzi Vineyards’ modern indoor tasting room

Ponzi’s gravity flow production facility, hospitality space and grounds

Wine Uncorked

The First Successful American Winery

Where was the first successful American winery located? The answer is Cincinnati, Ohio.

In the mid-1830s, Nicholas Longworth planted a vineyard of Catawba on the Mount Adams hillside and began making a sparkling wine from the grapes using the traditional method used in Champagne.

From the 1830s through the 1850s, Longworth’s still and sparkling Catawba were being distributed from California to Europe where it received numerous press accolades. In the 1850s, a journalist from The Illustrated London News noted that the still white Catawba compared favorably to the hock wines of the Rhine and the sparkling Catawba “transcends the Champagnes of France”.

Another who was impressed was the famous Ohio poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who was inspired to write Ode to Catawba Wine, which begins: “Very good in its way/ Is the Verzenay,/ Or the Sillery soft and creamy;/ But Catawba wine/ Has a taste more divine,/ More dulcet, delicious and dreamy.” (source-Wine Spectator)

At it’s peak, Longworth’s winery was producing 100,000 bottles a year with distribution to Europe and across the U.S. Unfortunately, by the 1860s, black rot and downy mildew struck heavily in the Ohio Vineyards. Little by little this prompted many up and coming winemakers to move to the Fingerlakes region in New York, which continues to thrive to this day.

Missouri also had a large wine region in the mid to late 1800s and was second only to California in wine production by the end of the century.

(source-Wikipedia)

Nicholas Longworth

Events, Wineries

ZAP Part 2: Ramazzotti Wines & Berryessa Gap Vineyards

In this second ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers) podcast, I feature Ramazzotti Wines & Berryessa Gap Vineyards as I promoted the annual Zinfandel Experience.

Joe and Travis Ramazzotti follow in immigrant Guiseppe’s footsteps growing zinfandel and other Italian varieties. In 2002, they decided to start bottling their grapes and others from legendary vineyards in Sonoma County as Ramazzotti Wines. I met up with Joe and Travis at Deavola Pizzaria in Geyserville for the interview. Hey, why not drink wine and eat pizza while we talk?

Nicole Salengo, the winemaker at Berryessa Gap Vineyards, fills us in on the important history of grapvines in Winters, California. It’s a warm region but evening winds funneled through the Berryessa Gap cool down the grapes. She crafts a good variety of wines but zin is one of her favorites. In this interview you’ll find out how this geology loving Vermont gal became a California winemaker.

From Sonoma County to Yolo County, Ramazzotti Wines & Berryessa Gap Vineyards do not share much in common with their winemaking style but between the two there’s something for everyone.

A Wine Uncorked feature is also included. Stay in, stay healthy and enjoy some wine while you listen. Cheers!