tend his orchards “until they plant me six feet under,” a promise he fulfilled, passing away on his tractor at 86. His imprint is felt across the 48-acre estate, and we are grateful to honor his legacy with each vintage. From its historic orchard roots to its modern role as a vineyard, the George Menini Estate embodies a full-circle relationship between land and farmer. Since acquiring the site, we’ve worked to produce wines indicative of the cool breezes and morning fog that define this special section of the Sebastopol Hills. Designating the site in George’s honor reflects our deep respect for the Menini family and serves as a reminder of our responsibility to craft wines worthy of the land’s history. Today, I’m pleased to share these wines with you as expressions of Sonoma’s past, the Menini family’s legacy, and soon, a part of your own story.
IN SPRING, THERE ARE FEW MOMENTS I FIND MORE filled with promise than budbreak. As soft green buds emerge from dormant vines, the season shifts toward new life. At the George Menini Estate, budbreak often overlaps with silver tip in the surrounding apple orchards—a reminder of my own upbringing on an Upstate New York orchard and of this land’s past as the Gravenstein Apple Capital of the World. Though vines now define the landscape, the estate remains a prism for the agricultural legacies of those who tended it long before us. More than a decade ago, as we were exploring western Sonoma County for new vineyard sites, I met Dena and David Bondelie, apple growers and descendants of the Menini family, who reached out to me directly over our shared agricultural values. After walking the property together—taking in its Goldridge soils, cool climate, and gently rolling terrain—we agreed the land held remarkable potential as a vineyard and could carry forward her father’s farming legacy in a meaningful way. We were honored to acquire the multi-generational property in 2013 and name it after the Menini family patriarch. George Menini, a larger-than-life fixture across Sonoma, left school at 13 and devoted his life to stewarding the land. His dedication to sustainable farming practices extended from installing a major underground drainage system with the Army Corps of Engineers to serving two decades as director of the Gold Ridge Soil Conservation District. He was known for saying he would
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker