Ravenswood Vineyard Designate Wines

Ricardo Belloni loved people. In fact, he loved life. He loved to garden; he loved big family dinners with homemade wine; he loved the vineyard that he made the wine from. Actually, Ricardo's vineyard was like a member of his family.

Ricardo grew up near the village of Varsi in Emilia Romagna, not far from Parma. His wife Natalia came from the other side of a nearby mountain. To make a long story short, the two of them ended up in California, where Ricardo started a cabinet shop. But because he'd grown up on a farm, he also wanted a vineyard.

He found one for sale in 1971 along Wood Road on the outskirts of Santa Rosa, where it had been planted near the turn of the twentieth century. On the northern horizon you could see Mount St. Helena, which reminded Ricardo and Natalia of the mountain that separated them when they were young. Now they worked side by side every weekend—hoeing weeds, trimming suckers, tying up vines.

Sometimes, in the beginning, Ricardo couldn't find buyers for his fruit. His wasn't the kind of spot that necessarily seemed great for grapes; it was flat and sandy and flooded almost every winter, but Ricardo made wine from it every autumn and he thought it was good.

Sometime around 1991, Ricardo called a winemaker who'd become known for old-vine Zinfandel. Joel Peterson drove up from Sonoma and, somewhat to his surprise, liked what he saw. Belloni's vineyard wasn't on a "well-drained hillside," but the Russian River climate was temperate and the vines were 90 years old. Zinfandel was the primary player, but there was a classic array of accompanists—Carignane, Petite Sirah and Alicante Bouschet—that Joel had learned to love.

Because of its cool location, Ricardo's was the last Zin vineyard that Ravenswood harvested that year. Thanks to the lengthy hang time, its berrylike fruit flavors were fully developed; the riper varieties seemed to reach a plateau where they waited for others to catch up. The grapes were all picked on the same day and fermented together, resulting in a gloriously balanced, integrated wine with concentration and finesse—as soulful and aristocratic as any Zin Ravenswood had ever made.

Ricardo passed away in 1997. By then the vineyard had the respect it deserved, and the Bellonis received several offers. But they decided to keep it. Natalia continues to cut the grass, while her son Danny runs the wood shop and her daughter Milena's husband Will looks after the grapes. It's still a family affair, which is how Ricardo would have wanted it.

FLAVOR PROFILE:				Boysenberry, blueberry, allspice, and vanilla flavors


Location				Russian River Valley

Acreage				About 7.5 acres

Year planted				"90+ years ago"

Soil type				Huichica Loam (a silty clay loam)

Climate				Cool, foggy

Elevation				Sea level

Exposure				Pretty flat

Spacing				8'X8'

Yield				Less than 2 tons per acre

Varietals				Old mixed vineyard, has Zinfandel, Carignane, Alicante Bouschet, and Petite Sirah

Rootstock				St. George