Martinelli Winery Update

Categorized | California, General

Posted on 06 February 2024.

Martinelli Winery Update

Three Sisters Vineyard Fort Ross-Seaview AVA

It’s almost that time! Please mark your calendars for your access to our upcoming Spring Release, beginning February 13th. At 9 am PDT, you will receive an email notifying you that your early release window is live. All of our wines are sold on a first-come, first-served basis, and many are expected to sell out before we release them to the rest of our member list.

We are excited to be sharing some of our member favorite single vineyard Pinot Noirs, like our Bondi Home Ranch (the 2021 vintage ranked #19 on Wine Spectator’s top 100 wines of 2023), our Sky Ridge, and our Three Sisters! We encourage you to secure your wines as soon as you receive the email, so you do not miss out.

This Spring, we are highlighting our Three Sisters Vineyard from Fort Ross-Seaview. Below is the history of the vineyard told by Julianna Martinelli.

Thank you for your longtime loyalty to our family winery. As always, your support is very much appreciated!
Salute,
The Martinelli Family and Team

Martinelli Winery Update

THREE SISTERS VINEYARD

FORT ROSS-SEAVIEW

My grandfather, Pappa, as he was called affectionately by his 8 grandchildren, was talking of retiring at age 75. The sheep business had become uneconomical and the rigors of ranch life out on the rugged Sonoma Coast were taking their toll. Then just as suddenly, after announcing his plan to retire, Pappa told the women in the family that he was going to plant a vineyard. My grandmother, Martha, my mother, and two aunts all went nuts. They tried to talk him out of it, as he had been working too hard on the 3,000-acre sheep ranch for many years. It was time to do some traveling, which my grandparents always enjoyed, and my grandmother was tired of living so remotely. The nearest town is a 45-minute drive one way. Pappa sat and listened to their reasons, nodding his head in agreement. The three sisters felt that their father had truly heard them and that they were all in agreement that he would soon retire. Somehow my grandmother and her daughters forgot that the men in our family do not retire if there is gasoline in the tractor or a fence to fix. Pappa’s inherent entrepreneurial spirit lay barely dormant. That very next week Pappa began cutting redwood pickets for the grape stakes, the trellis wire was delivered, and the rootstock and Wente clone cuttings were ordered. It was a go. What was once the old sheep-buffalo pasture, now became known as Charles Ranch Vineyard. In 1981, Pappa became the second person to plant a vineyard on the Sonoma Coast.
My grandparents eventually began gifting land to their three daughters with the purpose of avoiding inheritance tax. The three sisters, who had grown up in these remote hills, expertly knew the lay of the land, especially from the back of a horse. In 1995, 14 years since their father had planted the Charles Ranch Vineyard, it was experiencing marvelous success.
Now that it was their responsibility, they pooled their monies together and in 1995 hired my brother, Lee Jr., to plant and farm Three Sisters Vineyard. Three Sisters Vineyard has now become a much sought-after fruit source for making ultra-premium wines.
My grandparents’ home lay just beyond the edge of the Charles Ranch Vineyard. Ever wanting to remain involved, at about noon time my grandfather would hike the hill and stand in the shade of the giant pepperwood trees. There, he would wait until Lee Jr. came around on the tractor and let him know that lunch was ready. Our grandmother cooked three meals a day to feed the hard-working men on the ranch, whether they be sheep shearers or grape farmers. When everyone was seated around the big oak table and had begun to eat, Pappa would exclaim from the head of the table, “Martha, we have a great oven.” My grandmother had been hearing this compliment about the oven ever since they were married in 1936.
Our beloved Pappa lived to be 91 years of age. Until his last days, George Charles believed that a person could make a better living in those hills ranching sheep than as a winegrower. We didn’t doubt his belief, nor did we state ours.
Salute, from our family to yours,
Martinelli Winery Update
Julianna G. Martinelli

Available Wines

Chardonnay
2021 Three Sisters Chardonnay
2021 Zio Tony Ranch Chardonnay
Zinfandel
2022 Giuseppe & Luisa Zinfandel
2021 Vigneto di Evo Zinfandel

Pinot Noir
2022 Bondi Home Ranch Pinot Noir
2022 Sky Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir
2022 Three Sisters Pinot Noir
2022 Zio Tony Ranch Pinot Noir
Syrah
2021 Vellutini Ranch Syrah