ORSI FAMILY VINEARDS | JULY 2021
A visit to one’s country of origin carries a special significance for a traveler, a chance to add to a personal narrative through physical interaction with a landscape and its inhabitants. When we visit a village or region of ancestral connection, we look deeply into the eyes of the locals we meet, awash in musings that our server in the ristorante or a glib new friend on the piazza may be a distant relative.
Orsi Family Winery’s founder Bernie Orsi harbored no such illusions when he took his family to Ischia, an island in the heart of the Gulf of Naples. He wanted his children and grandchildren to see the birthplace of his mother, a magical island where hot springs percolate on the beach and Roman ruins lay upon the seafloor. Bernie assumed that, like his mother, other relatives had departed long ago. His kids, however, were intent on trying to track down any possible distant relatives, or even those familiar with his mother’s maiden name.
The grid landscaping of grass and marciapiede (walkway) provides a lovely canvas for special occasion rentals and winery events. The inaugural live music performance will debut on July 17th when Spike Sikes & His Awesome Hotcakes bring their swing and soul ensemble to the winery. The Orsi Family Winery website will be updated regularly with upcoming events as the summer moves to the fall crush season.
Orsi Family Vineyard’s small lot sizes also speak to the estate’s sustainable practices, specifically grapes that are hand-selected, hand-sorted, and hand-crafted. This intimate production allows winemaker Dick Schultz, who’s made wine in Sonoma for two decades, to oversee every facet of the process from new varietal plantings to barrel tasting and bottling. Dick is known for his daily strolls among the vineyards where he monitors the fruit’s growth and directs the leaf removal program that, when painstakingly executed, produces the highest quality of wine. All of the grapes are also handpicked, another extraordinary step, as is hand-sorting, with exceptional results.
In addition to Italian whites like Biancolella and Fiano, numerous reds such as Barbera, Montepulciano, and Negro Amaro, Dick Schultz and his team also harvest “California” varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. A tasting room visit invites a tutorial investigating the uniqueness of Italian wines, especially when juxtaposed with the familiar varietals associated with Northern California. No other tasting room offers such lessons.
“We’ve created
a familial environment here. From the moment you walk in you feel accepted by our welcoming staff who are eager to introduce you to good wine. ”
STAY CONNECTED:
- Mark ORSI
“We were talking to taxi drivers by the docks one day,” recalls Mark Orsi, “When one of them said my dad looked like someone he knew, so we off we go to visit him and it turns out the man’s brother was my dad’s uncle! Can you imagine sitting at your house when all of a sudden twenty people spill out of cars and start walking toward you?”
This being Italy, Bernie’s newly discovered cousin offered the visitors wine from grapes grown on his farm. A hastily organized lunch, Ischia is famous for its fishing, was planned.
“He poured Biancolella for us,” Mark says. “When he opened the barrel there was olive oil floating on top to preserve the wine. My dad was so impressed that he came home and immediately tried to figure out how to find and grow Italian varietals.”
Rare Italian Varietals are Yours for the Pouring at New
Orsi Tasting Room
He poured biancolella for us ... my dad was so impressed that he came home and immediately tried to figure out how to find and grow italian varietals”
- Mark Orsi
Orsi Family Vineyards now produces eleven different Italian varietals, including Biancolella d’Ischia. Far from simply a romantic homage, the 2018 Biancolella d’Ischia was awarded a Silver Medalist at the Critic’s Challenge Wine Competition. And this vintage is far from alone. The 2015 Negro Amaro, 2018 Fiano, and 2015 Nebbiolo all received Gold Medals. The 2014 Sagrantino was recognized with a Platinum Medal.
“Don’t get scared off by the mouthful of letters on the label,” Mark says, laughing. “We have many unique varietals that are very approachable and, naturally, go great with food. We don’t make that much of any of them, sometimes it is as little as two barrels of a particular vintage so tasting them at the estate is definitely the best way to go.”
The visit to Ischia and this generous cousin has entered family lore. Visitors to the recently opened Orsi Family Vineyards tasting room will recognize the same convivial hospitality. Located just outside Healdsburg in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley, the family-run estate prides itself on presenting Italian-based wines within an ambiance where every visitor is treated like extended family.
Like their wines, a visit to the tasting room’s environs feels like you’ve slipped into Tuscany for the afternoon. Red umbrellas dot several intimate piazzas. The white clapboard tasting room, surrounded by 70 acres of vineyards, recalls a farmer’s house outside of Siena, the low-slung roof ideal for shading the wraparound veranda. The winemaking operations are located just steps from where the wine is poured and enjoyed. Signs reminiscent of the Italian highways point to Roma, Venezia, Lucca, and, of course, Ischia, among other far-flung and dreamy destinations.
Joining the Orsi Wine Club provides numerous other paths to exploring these old-world styles. The Augustus Level and Marcus Aurelius Level wine club shipments of 6 or 12 bottles respectively happen twice a year, in addition to complimentary tastings, Annual Release Party invitations, and preferred pricing on private tastings, among other benefits. As the wine club site states, join the wine club and you’ll feel like a member of the extended Famiglia D’Orsi.
“We’ve created a familial environment here.” Mark says, “From the moment you walk in you should feel accepted by our welcoming staff who are eager to introduce you to good wine. We’re also very fortunate to have a tasting room among 70 acres of vineyards just two minutes outside of Healdsburg.”
Italian family culture has always conjured up images of long festive tables and extended repasts that last from afternoon until well into the evening. Bernie Orsi and his family experienced one such spontaneous occasion on a voyage to the island of Ischia. This connection proved so important he shaped a winery around the idea of creating small-batch Italian wine in Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley among the company of friends. The new Orsi Tasting Room invites us all to join the family. Visit the Orsi Family Winery website to plan your visit to the piazza.
ORSI FAMILY VINEARDS | JULY 2021
Rare Italian Varietals are Yours for the Pouring at New
Orsi Tasting Room