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.

The 2022 growing season was full of ups and downs, keeping our winemaking team on their toes. The season started out with ideal conditions with early rains helping to push bud break into Spring. While we encountered instances of shatter (a grape berry fails to develop because of incomplete pollination) due to frost, this was limited to specific vineyards. Meticulous attention was given to addressing this issue, as we diligently assessed each block and thinned any clusters affected by shatter. Thankfully, the summer months offered the optimal combination of warm days and perfectly cool nights. However, Labor Day weekend launched what has been marked as one of the most heat-intensive 7-day periods on record for Sonoma County, resulting in a significant number of vineyards reaching their ripening stage simultaneously.

With sweet and very fragrant aromas capturing your nose with black cherry, raspberry, and clean earth. The lively entry gives you a full palate of flavors of black raspberry, pomegranate, and a touch of barrel spice in the juicy finish.