Zio Tony Ranch

The Zio Tony Ranch is named after Lee Sr.’s uncle Tony who was the first in the Bondi family to be born on American soil. Zio Tony, Zio meaning ‘uncle’ in Italian and pronounced ‘tseo’, was a very charismatic man with a big booming voice whom loved a good time. When Zio Tony passed away in 1971 his nephew, Lee Martinelli, Sr., took over management of the estate. The love of his family’s heritage land was too great for Lee to sell the property and in one short season he went from high school teacher to apple farmer. Eventually this apple orchard was converted to vineyards, as the market for apples grew unbearably soft. The vines are planted on rolling hills made up of Gold Ridge soil, with clones consisting of 95, 76, and 548.

2021 was the driest known year on record and was also the third year of drought conditions for Sonoma County. Contrary to these conditions, the summer was relatively cool and started two weeks later than the previous year. The drought conditions did bring ripeness to each of our varietals at just about the same time. By the end of the first week, we had 40% of the total tonnage in the winery. This included Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel from both Fort Ross-Seaview and Russian River Valley. Despite being a very compact harvest, small clusters and berry size have yielded exceptional quality which makes 2021 a standout vintage.

The nose hits you with complex aromas of hazelnut, crème brûlée, and preserved lemon. Upon entry, you get a mouthful of bright and zesty lemon, followed by flavors of fresh pastry and golden delicious apple. The finish is accentuated with yellow pear and wet stone.