2018 | Ponzi Vineyards | Pinot Gris

The weather conditions throughout the growing season remained so ideal that the fruit came into the winery in pristine condition, perfectly and slowly ripened to intense flavor and maturity, all the winemaker needed to do was step aside and allow gorgeous wines to happen.

Producer Information

Ponzi Vineyards, established in 1970, is considered one of the founding Willamette Valley wineries. Ponzi's single vineyard Pinot Noir wines have been critically acclaimed, but Pinot Gris and Chardonnay further key grapes, while Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Arneis and Dolcetto also feature. Still, dry wines are the focus but sweet and sparkling wines are made in small volumes. The company owns or manages 175 acres (71 hectares) of vineyards, mostly on the north slope of the Chehalem Mountains AVA. Here the soils are exclusively the Laurelwood type, with a volcanic basalt base topped with ice-age wind blown sediments. They are iron-rich and very suited to the production of Pinot Noir. This soil profile led the Ponzi Family and the Johnson family of neighboring Dion Vineyards to submit an application for a new AVA in 2016. Laurelwood District AVA was approved in 2020. Ponzi is family-owned and operated. Dick and Nancy Ponzi bought their first plot of land in Willamette Valley in 1969 after experimenting with Pinot Noir in California. Nowadays, Pinot Noir is Oregon's most-planted variety and the region is famous for it. Ponzi Vineyards has expanded to make 45,000 cases a year. Dick Ponzi used his background in engineering to develop a low-budget gravity flow production system to account for the delicate, thin-skinned Pinot Noir grapes. Nancy Ponzi spearheaded legislation to legalize tasting rooms in Oregon, paving the way for the state's eventual wine tourism industry. She also co-founded the International Pinot Noir Celebration in 1987. Today, Ponzi is managed by the second generation, with Maria Ponzi taking over as president and Luisa Ponzi becoming the winemaker in 1993. Luisa Ponzi was the first American woman to enrol at Burgundy's Centre de Formation Professionnelle et de Promotion Agricole de Beaune to study enology.

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