The Tofanelli and DiGiulio Ranch vineyards of Calistoga were founded in 1929 by our Italian immigrant grandfather, Sebastian DiGiulio and our grandmother, Irene DalPorto of St. Helena. Their old-world farming traditions continue today under the  hands-on guidance of their daughter, our mother, Pauline DiGiulio Tofanelli, pictured here.

All my life I have enjoyed wine with meals. Even as a child, my Italian grandmother would pour a little vino in my water glass at the lunch table. That early introduction, and later education as a winemaker (and wine drinker), has guided my hands to craft wines that  pair well with food.

In the Napa Valley we enjoy a climate that can give our wines incredible concentration (and if we are not careful, a one dimensional simplicity). My goal as winemaker is to bring a little restraint to the ‘table’ - to give you wines that not only taste good now but will complement your meals and age gracefully.

That being said, our 2006 wines show the best of two worlds; the extraction of intense flavors we all love with a layered  complexity that speaks of old world influence.

We had a cool wet spring in 2006 which gave me concern due to a high percentage of spoilage organisms like boytritis and phomopsis. As an organic farmer, given the potential problems, vigilance was my best tool. My mantra was “no surprises.” To that end, much time was spent among the vines during the growing season. Balance in the vineyard equals balance in the bottle! Fruit thinning and canopy management (removing leaves to encourage air flow and light) were crucial viticultural practices for the vintage.

As I recall, mild fall weather helped me breathe a bit easier, and  my decisions to harvest were based on flavors instead of impending rain!

Allow me to expound a little on grape flavors. Because I do very little manipulation at the winery, it is extremely important that I capture the essence of the vineyard at the time of harvest. What do I look for? Varietal information of course (if it’s zinfandel, it should taste like zinfandel), but also more subtle notes of acidity, tannin, and a certain depth of flavor that speaks of the vineyard itself. All that, from one berry? Well, in a word, no. During the course of the harvest, I taste (and eat) an uncountable number of berries. By the time harvest is over, I will have had quite my fill of  grapes!

Compared to the time spent in the vineyard, the winemaking process is relatively short. The fruit was picked early in the day, brought to the winery and de-stemmed into small 240 gallon fermenters. No sulfites were added at this time so an active wild yeast culture was retained on the grape skins. After a cool rest period, spontaneous fermentation began. Manual punch downs (stirring the pot!) twice daily broke up the floating grape skins (called must) for color and flavor extraction.  After all the fermentable sugars were gone (14 to 16 days), the must was gently pressed to extract the resulting wine which was then aged in small oak barrels.

After 20 months of barrel age the wines were bottled and allowed to rest for an additional 5 months before release to you. Unfiltered and un-fined, these wines will continue to age gracefully in your care. Don’t forget to allow the wine to breathe and open up (maybe a splash decant) before consuming.

Enjoy!