Ponzi Blog

Charity of the Month, November: Willamette Cares Food Share

Throughout November and December, Ponzi Vineyards, Willamette Valley Wineries and the Oregon Foodbank Networks team up to provide emergency food to the most vulnerable in our community, providing meals during the holidays. A portion of tasting fees from the Ponzi Tasting Room in Sherwood, OR, will help feed the people in the Willamette Valley community. Help us spread the joy this holiday season. Come taste and help Ponzi give back! #ponzicares

From Willamette Valley Wine, "It’s our opportunity to share our bounty during the holiday season and to give back to the people of our community. Won’t you join us?"

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Nebbiolo Will Join Ponzi Vineyard's Northern Italian Varietal Wines

At Ponzi, Northern Italian Varietals are a passion, and part of the Ponzi family heritage. We're one of the few American producers making Dolcetto and Arneis, but now, Winemaker Luisa Ponzi is planting Nebbiolo at Avellana Vineyard. Only a handful of Oregon winemakers are experimenting with this bold varietal, the sole grape in Italian dynasty wines Barolo and Barbaresco. It will be a few years before the vines mature, but we already can't wait to taste the wine!

As Nebbiolo likes a similar climate to the cold weather reds for which Ponzi is known, the new vineyard site will also be home to Pinot noir vines.

Visualizing Ponzi's New Hospitality Space with Maria Ponzi

Winery President Maria Ponzi shares her vision for the comfortably luxurious interior of Ponzi's new hospitality space, due to be completed in March 2018.

¡Salud! Charity Wine Auction - To Our Health

From its inception, Ponzi has been an integral part of ¡Salud! The health services provided to vineyard workers in partnership with Tuality Healthcare are an important part of the wine industry in Oregon. For over 25 years, ¡Salud! has been dedicated to providing healthcare services and outreach to Oregon vineyard workers and their families. And for over 25 years, ¡Salud! The Oregon Pinot Noir Auction has been the only opportunity to access Oregon's most exclusive Pinot Noir cuvées, straight from the winemakers who produce them.

Oregon's most celebrated wineries preview their very best 2016 vintage Pinot Noirs, custom-made solely for ¡Salud!. Mingle with the winemakers, enjoy their exclusive cuvées, and enhance your cellar with a case or two of your favorite wines. 

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#pzharvest2017 Update - Picking is Finished!

Just before sunrise on September 14, 2017, at Aurora Vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains, the Ponzi harvest team was already hard at work picking the first Chardonnay grapes for sparkling wine. #pzharvest2017 was off to a sunny, warm and dry start.

Rains and cooler temperatures soon descended on the Pacific Northwest's Willamette Valley, dropping about an inch of precipitation and delaying Ponzi's harvest. 

But warmer, dryer mornings returned and the team worked quickly to get all the fruit into the winery before the unpredictable Oregon autumn brought more  inclement weather. From Chardonnay to Pinot gris and Pinot noir, we've gently picked ripe clusters of juicy, flavorful grapes. 

Sunrise on the last day of harvest burned off a thick layer of eerie fog. Frost covered the ground, but pickers harvested the last grapes on Ponzi's vineyards. Now that the fruit is in, the winery is busy destemming grapes, punching down lees, pressing and barreling the 2017 vintage. Stay tuned for more updates!

Harvest Update - Lab Testing Helps Make Great Wine

As #pzharvest2017 roles along, we want to introduce you to some of the people who help us make Ponzi's world class wines. Ponzi Vineyards Winery has a tough team of passionate wine lovers, but as Assistant Enologist Annett Goetz explains, brute force won't always wine the day. Watch this video to learn about the role of the lab in winemaking.

Ponzi Harvest Dinner 2017

Ponzi's Harvest Dinner 2017 was a magical evening featuring cozy atmosphere, chatting with two generations of the Ponzi family, a delicious meal and a preview of the 2015 single vineyard Pinot noirs and Chardonnays. Both second generation Ponzi sisters spoke, Luisa presented the new wines and Maria remembered the 2002 vintage.

The evening could not have more perfectly represented indian summer in the Willamette Valley. The clear skies faded into a spectacular sunset!

The dinner itself was an amazing five-course dinner by Winery Culinary Director, Thomas Ghinazzi, with each course perfectly paired with the unreleased 2015 Single Vintage Pinot noir and Chardonnay, plus a surprise library wine: the 2002 Abetina Pinot Noir.

To finish the meal, Chef Tom served a dessert of cheese blintz paired with limited release 2016 Ponzi Vino Gelato.

Please join us next year to celebrate the harvest. Mark your calendars!

First Pinot noir pressing of the 2017 season

The Ponzi Vineyards winery team is pressing our first Pinot noir grapes of #pzharvest2017, this pretty red press was originally made in Germany in 1978 and purchased by Dick Ponzi in 1992 when he bought his house at Aurora Vineyard.

The Willmes press had been abandoned by John Scharffenberger, of Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker. It seems repairing wine presses was a favorite hobby of the winemaker and chocolatier. 

 For Winemaker Luisa Ponzi, the press didn't at first meet her standards. So it sat, unused, until 2007, when the winery ran out of room from a particularly large harvest. Luisa dusted off the old press and had to admit she was wrong. It works great!

Ponzi Vineyards Supports Local Umpqua Bank with Lobby Display

Ponzi Vineyards supports its community here in the Chehalem Mountains outside of Portland, choosing opportunities to partner with local businesses whenever possible. If your bank is local Progress Ridge Umpqua (or even if it's not) stop in and see the Ponzi Vineyards display in the lobby. It's up for the next few months and will change as the holidays approach, featuring festive gift ideas for everyone on your list.

When it comes to American Pinot noir, few possess the rich history and experience of Ponzi Vineyards, one of Oregon’s pioneering wineries. The winery was founded in 1970 by Dick and Nancy Ponzi who realized the Willamette Valley met every need of noble, cool-climate grape varieties. Ponzi Vineyards was recognized early on as a premier producer of Pinot noir and instrumental in putting Oregon on the map as a world class wine region.

This tradition of excellence is carried on with second generation Winemaker Luisa Ponzi and President Maria Ponzi at the helm for the past 25 years. The winery continues to be a leader in Pinot noir innovation and remains at the forefront of American wine, as one of Oregon’s legendary producers.

Governor's Trade Mission to Japan

Governor Kate Brown invited Ponzi Vineyards President Maria Ponzi to represent the Oregon wine industry on a trade mission to Japan promoting Oregon products and tourism. The 4-day mission to Tokyo will include a reception with the Governor, featuring Ponzi wines served at the reception; a Women in Leadership event; and a seminar on doing business in Oregon and an Oregon Food Showcase. Representatives from Business Oregon, Travel Oregon, the Oregon Department of Agriculture,  and other women-owned, Oregon businesses will attend and promote help foster trade and tourism between Japan and the Beaver State. 

The Trade Mission Updates

Ponzi Vineyards President Maria Ponzi and Oregon Governor Kate Brown toast trade between Japan and Oregon with Ponzi Pinot Noir at the Friends of Oregon reception in Tokyo.

Maria Ponzi visits Nissin World Delicatessen in Tokyo, where they carry Ponzi wines, and poses with Ponzi Pinot Noir and wine department manager, Mitsuo Takenaka.

Director of Oregon Department of Agriculture, Alexis Taylor, posed with signed Ponzi bottles at Nissin World Delicatessen.

Ponzi President Maria Ponzi and National Sales Associate Brenna Patterson visit the Filcon Service  offices in Tokyo. They distribute Ponzi in Japan.

Thursday morning, Maria held a tasting at Winart Magazine, during which they staff tasted these Ponzi wines: 2016 Ponzi Pinot Gris, 2014 Ponzi Chardonnay Reserve, 2015 Ponzi Tavola Pinot Noir, and 2014 Ponzi Pinot Noir Reserve.

At a wine tasting and signing event at Sogo in Kawaguchi area, Maria found an in depth display of Ponzi wines. They even carried the Vino Gelato!

Brenna signed Vino Gelato for an adoring fan, as well!

The Ponzi Chardonnay Reserve was a huge hit at Seibu in Ikebukuro, where Maria bonded with Chardonnay lovers over this beautiful wine.

At a tasting in the Funabashi area, Maria poured the 2015 Ponzi Tavola Pinot Noir, and praised the Willamette Valley as a world class vineyard location for beautiful Pinot noirs and other cool climate varietals. The store created great signage and promotional materials featuring Maria and Luisa Ponzi.

To read the official trade mission press release, click here>> 

Follow Maria Ponzi's travels on our blog & social media >>