About “It Takes a Village to Raise a Winery”

The fact of this winery’s existence is a result of many people.  It is a result most clearly of my father, who raised me at Ravenswood Winery and taught me to make and taste wine at an early age.  It is a result of the Sangiacomo family in the Carneros, who I credit with allowing Ravenswood to squeeze by in the early days by lending a helping hand or turning a blind eye towards a forklift borrowed and not returned.  And more than that, it is the result of so many individuals in the industry who have encouraged me, shaped the way I think about wine, and will inevitably be at the back of my mind as I make wine.

Too often it seems like winemakers pretend like they were the first people to come up with making wine.  Like they were the ones that put the grapes in amphoras in the caucus mountains and discovered they would ferment, or, they credit some far-off french winemaker making Hermitage or Burgundy as being the sole source of their inspiration.  Though I completely understand the latter feeling– indeed tasting some of the worlds greatest wines can indeed be inspirational– I feel it does little justice to the milieu of factors that go into the decision to start a winery and become a winemaker.  

My hope with this site is to give credit where credit is due. So, over the next couple of months a number of interviews will take place with those people who have helped me understand wine.  Michael Havens at Havens Wine Cellars in Napa will talk about cofermentation of Syrah and Viognier and about micro-ox (something I am still not sure about but is interesting nonetheless).  Phil Coturri, one of the original organic farming gurus will talk about what it really means to be organic.  Jeff Cohn from JC Cellars will talk about cooperage.  My pop, Joel Peterson, will talk about Zinfandel and california field blends.  Hopefully Patrick Campbell from Laurel Glen will talk about phenolic ripeness, and hopefully Paul Draper and Donn Riesen from Ridge will talk about, well, whatever the hell they want to talk about… 

My hope is that people staying in touch with the site will be able to learn the building blocks from which my wine is made.However, prop number one should also deal with the website itself.  If I had not sat in the back of a classroom with Josh Hermsmeyer from pinotblogger.com I would have never thought to do this.

Second props go to Tyler Howarth, the able man behind the camera who has spent hours shooting and editing these videos.  He has had to listen to my voice more than any person should ever have to.  Equally important is my high school friend Tyson Caly who somehow managed to throw this site together despite managing about 83 others.  This would not have happened without their great talent. 

 So, stay in touch.  We will either have Jeff Cohn, Michael Havens, or Phil Coturri on later this week.