Martinelli Winery
Martinelli Winery.
The Martinelli family has been growing grapes right here for over 100 years. (They are no relation to the sparkling cider folks.) They are one of the best-kept winery secrets, almost cult-like, in Sonoma County, producing small amounts (under 12,000 cases overall) of very special wines, including zins and pinots, from some fantastic vineyards- like their own Jackass Hill – aptly named as it is so steep, you would be a jackass to try to farm it because of the danger- which is outweighed, obviously- by the incredible fruit that goes into Jackass Hill Zinfandel.
Leno Martinelli, @ 1950, on the tractor that he flipped more than once on Jackass Hill.
On my recent visit to the newly renovated tasting room at Martinelli Winery, I saw the incredible interior use of the original old barn wood (complete with original graffiti still intact), historical Martinelli family photos, hop barn equipment displays, giant wine cask (that a Baby Martinelli used to be put inside of via the very small opening to clean- uh oh!), not to mention the Martinelli wines and gift items.
I saw folks that were being VIP guided out in the vines – harvest time. I asked about that and was told that certain “Mailing List” guests are invited to special harvest events. There is no Wine Club per se- instead there is the Mailing List, where loyalty to Martinelli wines counts for a great deal. The Martinelli Values are: Communication, Continuous Improvement, Reliability, Punctuality/Timeliness, Customer Delight.
VIP tour sounds pretty awesome!
Here’s looking at you, kids.
TR
