At this time we are experiencing some prolonged periods of rain. Following a long warm and dry winter it seems that time has also slipped by Mother Nature and she has belatedly decided that we need a winter, now that it is spring. It always surprises me how many people ask what effect the rain will have on the vineyard at this stage. We have some budburst in a couple of varieties, but for the most part, the vines are still largely dormant, so there are no issues. It is a relief to see the groundwater get replenished after such a dry winter. The period where weather can play a cruel hand is in a month or two during flowering, when the crop levels are set. We hope that it will be sunny and warm by then…

This month sees the introduction of six beehives to the vineyard. We are fortunate to have a wonderful cellar hand that has a great deal of experience beekeeping, so in time we will have honey to add to our growing list of products derived from the property. Producing olive oil, red wine vinegar, Grappa, honey, as well as wine – of course – along with barn eggs and vegetables from the garden is not only food on the table, but offers excellent bio diversity in keeping with our harmonious organic farming practices.

I must offer some congratulations to Lorenzo who has always had great faith in the quality of his Grappa and his belief has been rewarded with an outstanding result in the San Diego International Wine Competition. The Grappa di Cabernet Sauvignon received a gold while the Grappa di Lorenzo achieved the rare Platinum award attributed to only the most outstanding entries. The Grappa di Lorenzo is produced from the exclusive Sangiovese Grosso grapes from Poggio alla Pietra, our home vineyard on Cavedale Road. Despite the small yields, Lorenzo has always insisted I press the grape skins dry before sending them to the distillery. You can order our Grappa only through the winery, while it is available.

For those of you in the area of Los Angeles, Lorenzo will be making a rare appearance at the Sonoma in the City Los Angeles – Taste of Sonoma event on April 24^th where he will be pouring our wines. It is always a kick to see the larger than life Lorenzo in action. He is never short of a laugh or some advice on life in general, so do make the trip if you can; enjoy the wines and say hello to the boss.

As for me, I must get back to the winery where I am today filtering the excellent 2011 Sauvignon Blanc.

Ciao for now!

Martin

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter. Up here on the mountain, the sun continues to shine as we enjoy some record temperatures for the year. Mercifully, the vines have thus far remained dormant, failing to be tricked into premature bud break by the unseasonal weather. The pruning is finished, the 2011 wines have completed their processes and have been put to barrel for the spring. At this stage of the year, we methodically go through the equipment, perform maintenance, and assess what is required for the coming season.

We have a number of projects gong on this spring. One is extending our organic status from just the olives to include the entire vineyard as well. Therefore, from the 2012 vintage on, we can claim that our Estate wines – everything aside from the Pinot – are made from organically produced fruit. The fact is that the Poggio alla Pietra, previously known as Brunello di Sonoma, has, in fact, been organically grown for quite some time as it is entirely grown at the Cavedale property. Because the other wines are potentially made from both properties they are only now certifiable. It takes three years dedicated organic farming before a property becomes eligible for certification, and it has been three years since someone, rather unfortunately, decided to use a wee bit of herbicide on some weeds up at Trinity Ranch. Cavedale has been “organic” for ten years now.

Another project, in keeping with organic practices and sound land husbandry, is to establish a number of beehives on the property. Aside from the obvious benefit of having wonderful natural comb honey on the table, it is great for flora in the area in general, assisting in the fertilization of most plants, though not necessarily grapevines, as they tend to be self-pollinating. As I write, I am looking into the purchase of suitable hive frames and other equipment, as well as sourcing some colonies. Anyone with local knowledge or material that may be of use to us please feel free to contact me.

And finally, after allowing a few barrels of 1999 vintage wine from our estate vineyard to sit down in the barn in some old quality French oak for 12 years, Lorenzo has declared it now ready to be bottled and sold. Hence, Maria Elena’s Red Wine Vinegar will soon be available for purchase at the Vineyard alongside our renowned organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It is certainly an intense vinegar, very heady aromas and the oak contributes a nice touch of balance to the vinegar.

And of course, we produce wine as well! In the next few months I will be preparing the 2011 whites and 2010 reds for bottling. This involves blending and sometimes filtration for the whites. It is the decision making stage of the process and is a lot of fun watching the various batches come together. More on that next time!

Ciao,

Martin

Welcome to the February Newsletter. We could be mistaken for thinking that summer is around the corner with the amazing weather we have had; with the last two months being the warmest and driest on record. Personally, I am looking forward to some cold wet weather to legitimize snuggling up in front of the fire with a glass of red wine and a plate of cheese with my loved one. For people who are thinking the same way as I, there are two great pieces of news to help facilitate this winter ritual.

First, we have released the 2010 Pinot Noir, our inaugural release, sourced from the prestigious Sonoma Coast region. Darkly colored for a Pinot, it none-the-less retains the refinement and elegance that this variety is renowned for. Seductive, smooth and full-bodied it is built around fragrant cherry and strawberry fruit with some floral oak and earthy depth to the palate. It is only just starting to come out of its shell and promises to further flourish with a little more bottle time.

The second news is that, for the romantic at heart or for those that could not care less, we have a Valentine’s Special running until the 14^th of February. The special is 30% off a 6 bottle purchase of Sauvignon Blanc, Rosso di Sonoma or the Pinot Noir. These are great bargains, hence the limited time frame, and are a once only offering. At this pricing the Pinot comes in under $24, and with only 200 cases produced it is sure to sell out quickly. So get in quick those who are interested.

This month, there are two events that Petroni Vineyards will be participating: The first will be the VinOlivo Grand Tasting on February 17^th. This is a premiere food and wine event where we will be pouring our 2010 Sauvignon Blanc and 2007 Rosso di Sonoma. The second is the San Francisco Chronicle Tasting on February 18^th. We will be serving a few wines including the Double Gold Award 2009 Chardonnay. If you are planning to attend either, please stop by and say hello.

In the meantime at the winery we are close to completing the pruning for the year. We have removed a small section of vines for replanting and are in the process of bottling our first release Red Wine Vinegar that Lorenzo has been aging in old casks since 1999. Also being bottled this month is the latest batch of Grappa, including the Syrah Grappa that we have been sold out of for several months. For those in the know, and have a taste for such things, our Grappa is very highly regarded.

In the meantime, let’s enjoy this bit of rainfall and the beauty of our winter.

Ciao,

Martin

Happy New Year to you all and may it be a glorious and prosperous one for all. To start the New Year we have some breaking news! Our fantastic 2009 Chardonnay has just been awarded a double gold medal in the prestigious San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Having raved about this wine in the previous few newsletters, it is rewarding to have my belief in this wine confirmed in the best way possible. In the $30-$35 class it must have been a sniff off Best in Class and considering our Wine Club members pay under $25 it must be one of the great Chardonnay bargains of the year.

It will be a big year for us in other ways also. The cave progress moves from excavation to laying the utilities and finally fitting and finishing. It has been a great deal of work to date but the result will be a wonderful facility and a very unique winery experience. With that in mind everybody is working furiously to get the cave fully operational for the upcoming season, both for visitors and for the winery facility to be ready to receive the 2012 grape harvest.

The Christmas and New Year have finally afforded us to get a short break in what has been an unusually busy end of year. The late harvest and the inaugural olive pressing has contributed to a typically busy grape vintage, and it has been a relief to get a few days off. Now that the New Year has started the vineyard team is in full swing having started pruning the grape vines for the year. This important vine maintenance sets the tone for the coming season and takes several months to complete. I am happy for the team that the weather is so fantastic, it has been an incredible December with practically no rainfall whatsoever and January appears to be following suit.

The new olive oil machinery arrived, along with the Italian technicians to set it all up; balancing the centrifuge and making sure it operates without missing a beat. This was achieved with a minimum of fuss and all the olives were processed in a single day due to the low crop yield. It was a great first run and we can now look forward to what should be a bumper year next December.

The winery is quietly ticking along, the last of the reds are completing malolactic, or secondary, fermentation after which the wines will be taken from barrel and returned minus the gross lees, or expired yeast and other debris, then laid to rest for several months. We will immediately then switch our attention back to the 2010 vintage reds, fine tuning the blends and preparing to get them bottle ready for the main bottling run in the middle of the year. This is the fun part of winemaking, revisiting the previous years work, watching how it has come together and really start to taste like finished wine.

That’s it for the month, keep healthy and drink well!

Ciao,

Martin

Those of you who live in the Bay area or follow the weather in wine country will be aware that there have been some challenges to overcome this season. The main event was persistent rain in the first week of October that left growers with some tough choices about whether to pick or risk the crop through the rain. We chose to take only a small amount in prior to the rain, a decision that paid large dividends with an extended period of great weather allowing us to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat and harvest some amazing fruit.

It was not all sun and roses however, some blocks that were very close to being ripe but not enough to warrant harvesting before the rain came in for some harsh treatment. This could have affected any number of varieties depending on your location. As we have altitude, and therefore a cooler season and later harvesting, the two victims for us were Syrah, and to a much lesser degree Chardonnay. Our Sangiovese and Cabernet came through unscathed and due to the cool and long season the fruit benefited from possibly the longest hang time in history. The result is some incredible fruit with intense color and flavor, excellent balance and moderate alcohol.

So what can we expect to get from Petroni Vineyards 2011 vintage? It will mean reduced volumes of several wines that will be quite remarkable in quality. It will mean the Rosso will be made up from fruit that almost always meets the high qualitative standards of the Estate varietal range. Mostly it means that in order to maximize the extraordinary quality of some of the fruit we have we will have lower volumes and expect to sell out quickly when released, so when the 2011 comes available be sure to fill your allocation.

It’s hard to think of anything but vintage at this time as we continue to work around the clock managing the ferments. I have to say that when I have found the time to enjoy a glass of wine I am immensely appreciating our two latest releases, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2009 Chardonnay. Both come hard on the heels of fantastic predecessors but both are, in my opinion, superior in the new vintage. The Cabernet is a classic from a great vintage, packed with fruit and fine spice notes. I find the impeccable balance and harmony of the wine superior to the extrovert 2006. The Chardonnay is simply delicious, I can’t think of a way to improve this wine. 2009 was certainly one of the greatest years for white wines and stylistically this Chardonnay is exactly where I like it. Rich fruit, fantastic aroma but for me the standout aspect is the stunning texture that glides effortlessly across the palate. It’s all class.

Ciao,

Martin

While all of you enjoy the beginning of Fall and the change of weather we are stating to wind into harvest. Thus far we have brought in the first parcels of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, both of which look outstanding, as well as some Pinot Noir –the only grape we are purchasing as we await our own Pinot vines to come of age.

The rain that fell for a few days caused alarm for some, but as a seasoned winemaker from New Zealand, rain is not a stranger to vintage for me. While we lost several days of ripening time, the water itself did not pose a problem. In fact, we did not need to irragate and the vines were very much in need of some water. Now that the weather has cleared I am confident we will have enough sunshine to get us home. As things stand the grapes look amazing, very small, darkly colored berries. And if the tiny parcels we have brought in from Sangiovese and young Cabernet vines are anything to go by we are destined for a superb vintage.

Please check our up and running FaceBook site. We welcome you all to “like” us and keep tabs on the comings and goings here at petroni Vineyards by following this link: https://facebook.com/PetroniVineyards. Among other things will be pictures of various wines in the process of being made, and notification of various events.

Finally, a warm welcome to Logan who has joined the team as our intern. You will spot her in few Facebook postings, getting stuck in, making it happen, and livin the dream. Speaking of which, time to get back to work! Ferments wait for nobody.

Ciao,
Martin

We hope you are having a fantastic summer and enjoying the reliably warm weather. At this stage all our grapes have turned dark, or gold, depending on the variety. We look to the next month or so, to start planning for the beginning of harvest. The feature of this vintage looks to be low yeilds; and in particular, a very small berry size that will result in intense and powerful wines.

We are also excited about the imminent arrival of our new Olive Oil press coming in from Italy. With the 2011 olive season, we will be processing all our own organically grown olives right here on the Estate.

We have had a good deal of favorable feedback from our new website, especially the hassle free method of online purchasing. To compliment and round out the website www.petronivineyards.com, we have created a facebook page and other social media to better keep you informed of the goings on around here. I am, personally, your facebook connection here at Petroni Vineyards. My goal is to keep the content fresh, interesting and unobstrusive to fans; and I want your feedback!. During the vintage we will be posting pictures of the harvest and vinification process as it happens; as well as current information on events, the cave development and other interests related to the wine scene in and around our community. Keep a look out for a friend request a few weeks from now.

As anticipated, the outstanding 2009 Savignon Blanc has run out and we have released the 2010 only a month from its bottling. Its first outing was at the Family Winemakers of California Tasting held in San Francisco last month. It was extremely well received, surprising connoisseurs with the vibrancy and richness of fruit. It is sure to please those of you who have been enjoying the 2009.

Other wines to mention are the 2008 Chardonnay and 2006 Cabernet Savignon; new vintages are close to release, so there are extraordinary deals on both these wines. I would encourage a call to the winery to find out about this very limited end of vintage offering. Also up our sleeves is the inaugural Petroni Vineyards Pinot Noir 2010. We have yet to decide a release date and price, but at our Annual Harvest party on October 16th, you may well witness its debut and associated one time offer. I hope to see you there.

Happy Summer Sipping!

Martin Mackenzie

We are now enjoying full summer, glorious sunny days, although the weather remains cool and even: so far we have had only one day at 100 degree and have mostly sat in the high 80′s. While this is cooler than average I favor this pattern as it allows the grapes to properly ripen in terms of flavor and tannin without excessive sugar content or the occurence of raisins. The result, provided the rains do not come early, will be intense wines with ripe flavor and superior balance of alcohols and acids.

The vineyard team have performed outstandingly well, despite some challenging times earlier with more rainfall than usual resulting in more vine growth that needs to be trimmed, the vineyard is in the best conidition I have seen it in. I could not ask more from Samuel and the team, the vines look in perfect balance and, as a result again of the earlier inclement weather, the yeilds are satisfactorily low to ensure high quality and the ability to easily ripen should the season end a little early.

We have had a good deal of favorable feedback from our new website especially the hassle free method of online purchasing. To compliment the website www.petronivineyards.com we are creating a facebook page and other social media to better keep you informed of the goings on around here. I will be operating the facebook page myself with a view of keeping content interesting and unobstuctive to fans. During vintage we will be posting pictures of the harvest and vinification process as they happen as well as current information on events, the cave development and other interests related to the wine scene in and around our community. Keep a look out for a friend request a few weeks from now.

And one final word regarding our enormously popular Sauvignon Blanc, the 2009 vintage is expected to run out this month, anybody interested in grabbing some of the last few cases of this outstanding summer wine had best order it now!

Happy Summer Sipping!

Martin Mackenzie