Zinfandel, “Giuseppe & Luisa” Martinelli, Russian River Valley, 2021

Giuseppe & Luisa vineyard was planted with cuttings from Jackass Hill Zinfandel in the 1990s. It was named after our great grandparents, Giuseppe and Luisa Martinelli, who started our first winery in the 1880s when they immigrated from Tuscany, Italy. We wanted to pay homage to their determination to follow their dreams at just 19 and 16 years of age in coming to the New World, so we created this vineyard from cuttings from the original vineyard Giuseppe planted, Jackass Hill. We restored and are using their original label on our current wines from this vineyard as a thank you for starting our family’s legacy so long ago.

The Martinelli Family has been farming their estate vineyards for over 135 years, continuing their rich history and making them 6th generation wine growers and farmers. The Martinelli children have always been raised working in the fields from a young age. Leno Martinelli was making wine at a very young age, and farming his own vineyards at the age of 12. Leno taught his son, Lee Sr., to make wine alongside him when Lee Sr. was just 5 years old. This tradition continued with Lee Sr. having his children tying vines, suckering, and picking apples at ages as young as 6 years old. A strong work ethic was the byproduct to the stewardship of the land as a way of life, a gift to provide for your family and a privileged obligation to the next generation. Many decades later, a few of Lee Sr. and Carolyn’s children are stilled happily involved in the farming and winery businesses on a daily basis.