In Spring of 2011 I received a phone call from Pam Bacigalupi asking if I would make Chardonnay for their family under the newly revived family name. I think I said I would think about it but in reality, I was jumping up and down and screaming inside with excitement! It has been an amazing ride these past ten years (and 11 harvests). Here are some of standouts and memories from this amazing journey:

How do you think your winemaking philosophy has changed over the past 10 years?

Surprisingly my philosophy hasn’t changed much. In 2011 when we started with just Chardonnay, I knew I wanted to respect the vineyard and the site and soil type and the family legacy as much as possible. I knew that I wanted to be minimal intervention and really let this beautiful fruit shine for itself. I had worked with grapes from Bacigalupi for many years but never Chardonnay! That philosophy of respecting the fruit and site has only deepened as I’ve learned the nuances of each block. It’s been such fun to see what each block will do year over year. There really is something to making the same wines from the same vineyards for a long time and truly getting to know what a warmer or cooler vintage will do to the wine.

What was your most challenging harvest and why?

My most challenging harvest has always been 2011! We had a very delayed harvest due to a cool growing season and very early rains. Our Chardonnay very luckily fell into the perfect window. The minerality was so pronounced from the cooler weather that it actually ended up being one of my favorite wines!

What was your favorite harvest and why? 

It’s hard to pick one favorite because I love every single vintage so much but 2015 was a standout vintage. The yields were low but quality was incredibly high and we had such a fun team to work with at the winery. Harvest is obviously so much about quality of the fruit and the vintage but the days are so much more fun when you are surrounded by great people!

Is there a wine that you made that is particularly memorable and why?

I absolutely love all our wines but our Chardonnay, the wine I started with and that put the Bacigalupi name on the wine map, will always have a special place in my heart. I absolutely love everything about it. I value each block that we grow on the property and how different yet similar they are. I appreciate how they express themselves throughout fermentation and aging. I think everyone at the facility where we make our wines knows how much I love our Chardonnay by how much time I spend checking in on each and every barrel!