Planting Roots - Reaping the Harvest” at the Museo ItaloAmericano in San Francisco until January 28

As you read this column, I am on my way to San Francisco and Sonoma for a week with a number of world renowned winemakers, many of whom are second generation Italians, whose families emigrated to the bay area and Napa-Sonoma.

These immigrants and their descendants are the subject of a rare and definitive exhibit at the ItaloAmericano Museum at Fort Mason in San Francisco, open to the public through January 28, 2007. Called "Planting Roots, Reaping the Harvest," it traces, through remarkable photography, the ascension of Sonoma/Napa from primitive grape growing grounds where the tools of choice were bare hands and "horsepower", from strong horses. The stallions worked with their masters to bring the harvest in, as late as the 1950s.

The early Italian "famiglie" are still familiar names: Pedroncelli, Sebastiani, Seghesio, Foppiano, Martini, Rossi, Mondavi, Ferrari-Carano and more recently Coppola from movie fame, who now has large wineries in both Sonoma and Napa.
At first, back in the late 1800’s, the wine was made for bartering and table drinking. Many were employed by the Italian Swiss Colony Winery based in Asti, in the Sonoma Valley. They were the first to grow, ferment, barrel and bottle their own wine. More immigrants arrived to this land of plenty, and soon the sons and daughters of the original farmers, began to think about volume and branding. They slowly built a national, then international following for their family’s wines.

All the while, these families helped each other out. They would meet in a back yard over BBQ, wine, bread, pasta, the Italian game of Bocce Ball and trade thoughts, experiences and dreams. Occasionally differences of opinion turned to physical disagreements and family splits, as in the case of the Mondavi family, whose two brothers, Robert and Peter have recently been reunited at Charles Krug in Napa.

I hope you think of all the history and the years of hard work and dedication in the evolution of wine in the Sonoma/Napa areas, when you drink your next bottle of wine from this storied appellation. Most of the families started out with little more than a dream and a mountain of dedication to their craft.

This historic journey is mapped out in the marvelous exhibit which is free of charge to the visitor. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday 12 to 4pm. Call 415-673-2200 for more information.

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While I am inspecting the wineries in Sonoma, I am going to be sure to look at old-vine wines, which seem to be flourishing in the area. You see it on many Zinfandel wine labels. It appears to be a mark of quality and I’ll be asking questions about why that is. What does the age of the vine mean to the flavor of the wine.

Pedroncelli, in the Dry Creek area of Sonoma, calls theirs "Mother Clone" Zinfandel, with vines planted some 90-plus years ago. They say the wines have more concentration and complexity, with more elegance in the bouquet. Yields are usually low and I consider that as a good thing for taste, but not so good for the bottom line and may spell the end for an "old vine."

There is something special and grand about opening a bottle that’s labeled "Mother Clone." It certainly should get some respect by virtue of its senior life in the earth.

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