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The Ponzi family is respected for their deep commitment to the local wine industry and for promoting the bounty of the Willamette Valley. In 1998, they founded a culinary center in Dundee, comprised of the Ponzi Wine Bar representing rare and hard to find Oregon wines, and The Dundee Bistro, which celebrates sustainably-farmed, seasonal ingredients from the region with its signature Willamette Valley Cuisine. Luisa Ponzi graduated from Portland State University in 1990 earning a Bachelor of Science with an emphasis in Biology. Following her undergraduate studies, Luisa moved to Beaune, France, to continue her education. There, she apprenticed with Burgundian producer M. Christophe Roumier of Domaine Roumier of Chambolle Musigny, and Italian producer Luca Currado of Vietti in Piedmonte. In 1993, she was awarded the Certificate Brevet Professionelle D'Oenologie et Viticulture. When Luisa returned to Oregon, she combined her first hand experience of Burgundian viticulture practices with her knowledge of the unique Oregon terroir learned at the side of her world class winemaker father. She has led the winemaking program at Ponzi Vineyards for nearly two decades and continues to travel extensively throughout prominent wine regions. She is an active participant in the International Pinot Noir Celebration, the Steamboat Technical Conference and Oregon Pinot Camp, and speaks often at seminars about her winemaking style and technique. 2007 Chardonnay Reserve HISTORY: Ponzi Chardonnay, along with Oregon Chardonnay, has evolved tremendously over the last 30 years. Consistency of quality has remained paramount through the winery’s experiments, discoveries and incorporation of new tools. Ponzi focuses on the importance of critical clone selection, production control, balanced acidity and letting the wines express themselves naturally. The Chardonnay grapes for this Reserve bottling were grown at Ponzi’s Aurora Vineyard on Laurelwood soil, and Dion Vineyard, both located in the Chehalem Mountains AVA. Fruit used in the blend also comes from Thistle Vineyards in the Dundee Hills AVA. All fruit is Certified Sustainable. FERMENTATION: The fruit was whole cluster pressed and the juice moved to French oak barrels (10% new) and fermented in barrel. Malolactic fermenta¬tion was spontaneous and 100%. Lees were stirred once a week for six months. After 18 months of barrel age the wine was moved with air to tank for blending then bottled by gravity. This wine has been aged in bottle for six months before its release. Alcohol is 14%; pH is 3.35. Cases produced: 1,650 six-bottle cases In addition to the Chardonnay Reserve, Ponzi produces a Willamette Valley Chardonnay. |
Dick and Nancy Ponzi founded Ponzi Vineyards in 1970 and were among the first to plant grapes and produce wine in Oregon. Combining a passion for innovation and experimentation with respectful stewardship of the land, the Ponzi focus is to practice sustainable farming, select appropriate vineyard sites and clones, and maintain low yields, all of which contribute to quality fruit production and flavor concentration. The ultimate goal is to allow the wines to express themselves naturally. 
VINTAGE: The string of rather warm, dry vintages came to end with 2007. The spring started off with a bang. Some moisture in the ground and dry weather during flowering gave us an above average fruit set. As the summer progressed we were given quite mild weather and high humidity causing close attention to be paid to combating mildew pressure. Our normally hot August was not, and as we headed into September the rains were threatening. The first fruit picked was quite late coming in (during the last week of September) and from that point on it was a dance picking between the rainy periods. We finished at the end of October with the stunning realization that all threat of rot had been avoided, the fruit had achieved ripeness and we had made some beautiful, if not outstanding wines. This was a year where our years of experience paid off. The conditions forced vineyard management decisions to be flawless, and picking decisions to be rewarded by patience and skill in the cellar revealing the quality of the vintage.