We named this wine Anjola, after Franco’s grandmother Angela who lived in Piemonte all her life. Since 2007 we can call our wine Pinot Grigio, before then it was called Pinot Gris, we found the Grigio more suitable for our style of wine. We first planted our vines, Pinot Grigio VCR 5 on 3309 rootstock In the spring of 2004, we had our first commercial vintage in 2008. Our Pinot Grigio has wonderful aromas of pears, lemons and a touch of anice, good mouthfeel with crispy acidity. This wine can be served as an aperitif, seafood dishes, roasted chicken most white meats, goes well with aged cheeses too. Enjoy chilled but not too cold.

Dolcetto is a black grape varietal originally grown only around Alba, in Piemonte, NW Italy. Lately this varietal was planted in other areas of the world and here in Oregon only a handful of producers are producing Dolcetto. Marchesi Vineyards planted the Dolcetto Grape in the spring of 2005. The vines are liking the Hood River climate, are very vigorous and can be seen as you enter the property on the way to the tasting room on the right end side of the road. Dolcetto is fruity, soft and very accessible when young. Dolcetto is the perfect light red for summer and is recommended to be the first red wine in a traditional multi wine meal. We produced our first Dolcetto in 2008, it was awarded a silver medal at the Oregon State Fair. We named our Dolcetto, Natal after Franco’s Great-Grand father. Salute!

Barbera is king in the Piemonte region of NW Italy. Here in northern Oregon we share the same latitude, climate and hours of daylight. Marchesi Vineyards was founded around this grape varietal in fact the very first vines planted in May of 2004 was Barbera, we had our first crush in 2008. We named our Barbera, Achille after Franco’s grandfather who lived in Piemonte, Italy all his life and loved his Barbera. Achille’s Barbera is loaded with bright ripe cherry fruit, balanced by mouthwatering natural acidity to complement most food, from pasta to roasts or grilled meat.

Cereja is a word in the Piemontese dialect that means greetings. We wanted to bring into this wine as much of the Piedmontese character as possible. Cereja is a blend of Sangiovese, Dolcetto, Syrah with a touch of Malbec. Our first Cereja was the 2006 vintage, a lovely blend of wines. Fermented separately and then refined in the final blend before bottling. This wine has great aromas of black fruits on the nose that gets carried in the palate, where it shows wonderful richness, density, and depth. Focused wild berry, blackberry and black cherry fruit.

We named our Pinot Noir Giuseppe, because in Italian the nick name for Giuseppe is Pino. The Pinot Noir grapes where the last grapes to be planted at the south end of our property at the end of April 2008. We sourced grapes for our 2007 and 2008 vintage from growers we know well and can count on the best fruit from the wonderful Hood River area. Half of the fruits came from Wy’East Vineyards and the other half from lower altitudes of Mount Underwood on the opposite side of the Columbia river, right in the middle of the Columbia Gorge. Our 2007 Pinot Noir has a pale robe, aromas of mushrooms and earth with a violet note, quite light but silky on the palate, dark cherry fruit, strawberries and a touch of sweetness on the finish. Most enjoyable with roasted salmon or chicken alla cacciatora.