It started when he discovered his Italian roots...
Pre-ragazzi, Michaela, then VP/Marketing of Domaine Chandon, and Gregory Rodeno at a Chandon event in 1983.
Long before it was fashionable, a wine-loving country lawyer with 75% Italian genes named Gregory Rodeno realized that he was drawn to all things Italian: good wine, a girl with an Italian name and zero Italian genes (note the fatal attraction between Italians and the Irish), design, food, cars, architecture...it's a long list.* Could it have been his Piemontese ancestry calling him? A first visit to Italy in the early 1980's lead to the inevitable: in 1985 Rodeno Vineyards became home to the first Sangiovese grapes in the Napa Valley.
The First Vintage
Planted on a rocky hillside in Napa Valley, the healthy but scrawny-looking vines eventually produced one ton of intensely flavored grapes which the Rodeno family vinified in their barn in 1989. The children, then 3 and 5, inspired papa to name the wine in their honor. Villa Bambini was all wrong, as these lively kids were definitely ragazzi (ask any Italian) and depicting them as cherubs on the label was a bit of a stretch.
Expert Friends Helped
Under the guidance of renowned winemakers (and good friends) Charles Thomas, and later Celia Welch, this and subsequent vintages were extraordinarily delicious, but no larger. If you google these two you'll be amazed at the wines they've made before and since. Lucky us!
After the 1998 vintage, the vineyard succumbed to phylloxera.
All was not lost!
We rescued some Rodeno clone budwood to assure the replanted vineyard would produce the same wonderful grapes, but it took longer than anticipated to get back into production. Hillside plantings are tricky, especially in highly regulated Napa Valley; replanting requires more capital than typical bankers like to lend; and our site does not encourage vine vigor. So we waited and waited until finally, ten years post-phylloxera, we were able to harvest a crop barely sufficient to restart winemaking operations.
Starting up Villa Ragazzi again
Which brings us to the present. Villa Ragazzi 2009 Sangiovese was released in the fall of 2011. Ta da! Having retired after 21 years from her day job as CEO of St. Supery Winery, Michaela finally has time to devote to the family winery, and is learning how to run a tiny startup with risible resources. She intends to change her name from Michaela to Jack [of all trades], and is grateful for the internet.
The ragazzi are now responsible adults, graduated from university and on their own. They don't help with the family wine anymore, but they do appreciate the occasional gift.
Gregory still practices business, environmental and real estate law, and manages the vineyard; he's also responsible for selling grapes to other wineries - except for the Sangiovese and a bit of Cabernet for Villa Ragazzi's needs. He reports a wonderful harvest in 2012.
* Gregory's short list revolves around Italian food, design, history, wine, art, culture, machinery, and more. Some favorites are Armani, espresso (double), Ducati, Fellini movies, bistecca a la fiorentina, the Uffizi, gnocchi with pesto, Barbaresco, San Gimignano, limoncello, the Sforzas, Barolo, gelati, Fiat Abarth 500c, Michelangelo's war machine models, the Villa d'Este, amari, Botticelli, carbinieri uniforms, marbled end papers, Alfa Romeo, thin crust pizza, tartufi bianchi, Verdi, Il Giardin da Felicin...
The First Vintage
Planted on a rocky hillside in Napa Valley, the healthy but scrawny-looking vines eventually produced one ton of intensely flavored grapes which the Rodeno family vinified in their barn in 1989. The children, then 3 and 5, inspired papa to name the wine in their honor. Villa Bambini was all wrong, as these lively kids were definitely ragazzi (ask any Italian) and depicting them as cherubs on the label was a bit of a stretch.
Expert Friends Helped
Under the guidance of renowned winemakers (and good friends) Charles Thomas, and later Celia Welch, this and subsequent vintages were extraordinarily delicious, but no larger. If you google these two you'll be amazed at the wines they've made before and since. Lucky us!
After the 1998 vintage, the vineyard succumbed to phylloxera.
All was not lost!
We rescued some Rodeno clone budwood to assure the replanted vineyard would produce the same wonderful grapes, but it took longer than anticipated to get back into production. Hillside plantings are tricky, especially in highly regulated Napa Valley; replanting requires more capital than typical bankers like to lend; and our site does not encourage vine vigor. So we waited and waited until finally, ten years post-phylloxera, we were able to harvest a crop barely sufficient to restart winemaking operations.
Starting up Villa Ragazzi again
Which brings us to the present. Villa Ragazzi 2009 Sangiovese was released in the fall of 2011. Ta da! Having retired after 21 years from her day job as CEO of St. Supery Winery, Michaela finally has time to devote to the family winery, and is learning how to run a tiny startup with risible resources. She intends to change her name from Michaela to Jack [of all trades], and is grateful for the internet.
The ragazzi are now responsible adults, graduated from university and on their own. They don't help with the family wine anymore, but they do appreciate the occasional gift.
Gregory still practices business, environmental and real estate law, and manages the vineyard; he's also responsible for selling grapes to other wineries - except for the Sangiovese and a bit of Cabernet for Villa Ragazzi's needs. He reports a wonderful harvest in 2012.
* Gregory's short list revolves around Italian food, design, history, wine, art, culture, machinery, and more. Some favorites are Armani, espresso (double), Ducati, Fellini movies, bistecca a la fiorentina, the Uffizi, gnocchi with pesto, Barbaresco, San Gimignano, limoncello, the Sforzas, Barolo, gelati, Fiat Abarth 500c, Michelangelo's war machine models, the Villa d'Este, amari, Botticelli, carbinieri uniforms, marbled end papers, Alfa Romeo, thin crust pizza, tartufi bianchi, Verdi, Il Giardin da Felicin...