Pedroncelli Winery

1220 Canyon Rd, Geyserville, CA 95441

Website: http://www.pedroncelli.com/

I love finding places like Pedroncelli!  This winery symbolizes why I want to return to Sonoma year after year.  It is a small family-run winery in Dry Creek Valley with a strong Italian backbone.  There is so much culture in the deep family roots that is exhibited in the pleasantly surprising wines. This winery is celebrating more than 90 years of operation.  It was started in 1927 by John Pedroncelli, Sr. and has continued its operations every since. John Sr. was able to survive Prohibition by selling to home winemakers.  John Sr.’s sons John Jr. and Jim succeeded him in the 1940′s and ’50s.  Jim is still around today. The 3rd generation came on board in the 1990s. Now the winery is 70% run by women with a woman winemaker.  The 4th generation is starting to get involved in the winery too.

The Pedroncelli family sustainably farms 105 acres of estate vineyards and purchases the rest of the grapes from neighbors and friends.  Their flagship wine is Zinfandel which is what Dry Creek Valley is most known for. There are old vines right outside the front door of the winery.  This winery was the first to plant Cabernet Sauvignon in Dry Creek Valley. Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon make up 50% of the vineyards. In total, the family farms 13 varietals that includes Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Sangiovese, Petite Sirah, and Port in additional to the Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Pedroncelli Tasting Room

The tasting room is open daily for walk-ins with a very reasonable fee of $10 that is  reimbursed with a purchase. The winery is in a serene area with vineyards lining both sides of the road and all along the hillside.  I felt the tasting room was very homey and laid back. My husband and I were the only visitors when we arrived and got a very personalized experience.  The tasting room has terra cotta colored stone tile floors, a wood paneled ceiling, and is quite spacious. There is a long wood tasting bar that can accommodate quite a few guests.  It’s nothing fancy but something about the room is very welcoming. In one corner there were some racks of wine surrounded by family pictures and memorabilia. Pedroncelli also offers enhanced tasting programs with advance notice, such as a tour, lunch on the property, or a food and wine pairing.  There is an outdoor deck with picnic tables and a bocce ball court open to everyone.

Our host was very cordial.  She treated us like we were friends of the family.  She shared the history of the winery while catering our tasting to our preferences.  We were enjoying ourselves so much we sampled almost every wine on the tasting menu (I won’t say exactly how many but it was a lot).  I liked the Friends wines, both the white blend and red blend. They are easy drinking wines that you would want to sit down with friends to enjoy.  My personal favorites were Wisdom Cabernet Sauvignon and Mother Clone Zinfandel. They both had lots of dark fruit and went down very smoothly. We were won over by this winery.  As a result we joined the club and left with big smiles on our face. I’m very excited about this new find and definitely want to go back on my next visit.

Pedroncelli’s outdoor picnic area