Ponzi Blog
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!
Oct 16, 2017 at 1:58 PM
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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The Ponzi Vineyards winery team is pressing our first Pinot noir grapes of #pzharvest2017, this pretty red press was originally made in Germany in 1978 and purchased by Dick Ponzi in 1992 when he bought his house at Aurora Vineyard.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!
Oct 13, 2017 at 11:17 AM
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#PZHarvest2017 Update - Punch Downs are Team Effort
This week the pace of harvest accelerated, with fruit coming in from a lot of vineyards. The winery staff and harvest interns have been hard at work to keep up with all the fresh grapes coming in. Ponzi's other departments volunteered to help punch down tanks. Sometimes harvest is a team effort!
Punching down the tanks makes sure the juice gets plenty of skin contact and flavor. Here's the view from above a punch down:
More harvest updates to come on the blog. But if you can't wait, stay abreast of all the action in real time by following #pzharvest2017 on Instagram and Twitter.
Oct 6, 2017 at 11:04 AM
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2017 Harvest Kickoff
Harvest has come to Oregon's Chehalem Mountains.This season featured a cool spring, a dry hot summer, and this week, intermittent rains. Winemaker Luisa Ponzi explains the vintage and why the grapes are looking great.
Oct 3, 2017 at 2:34 PM
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Harvest Interns Welcomed to #pzharvest2017
Harvest has arrived in the Willamette Valley and so have Ponzi's lovely interns. These wine lovers are here to work hard from now until the end of harvest. They clean tubs, punch down grapes, clean the destemmer, drive fork lifts, pull juice samples for Winemaker Luisa Ponzi to taste, and generally help us with all the tough stuff needed to make harvest 2017 a success.
Harvest is hard work, but there are some perks too! Luisa hosted a potluck mixer with three generations of the Ponzi family, the full time Ponzi team and the interns.
Delicious dishes paired with world class wine. The view of the sunset over the Chehalem Mountains served as a perfect dessert.
Sep 29, 2017 at 3:41 PM
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Harvest 2017 Kicks Off at Ponzi
In the first morning light, the Ponzi vineyard crew was at the stunning Ponzi Aurora Vineyard picking the very first grapes of the season.
The freshly harvested Chardonnay grapes were then brought directly to the winery to be pressed. Ponzi staff pitched in sorting the fruit and Winemaker Luisa Ponzi toasted the new harvest season.
This week, the harvest interns arrived and are learning the ropes in preparation for the season. It's going to be a great year. Stay tuned!
Sep 19, 2017 at 3:05 PM
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2017 Harvest is Upon Us
We’re inching closer to Harvest 2017. The Pinot noir grapes on the vines at Ponzi Avellana Vineyard are almost completely covered in their signature dark plum. The first day of picking is still several weeks away, but the vineyard crew and winery production team are busy preparing. Stay tuned for more harvest updates!
Aug 29, 2017 at 10:21 AM
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Comments (3703)Harvest Update: Veraison
Veraison is underway in the vineyard. The trademark speckling can be seen throughout the Pinot noir blocks at all four Ponzi sites. As harvest approaches and the grapes continue to ripen, the color will take over each cluster and deepen to a dark shade of plum.
Aug 17, 2017 at 9:00 AM
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