Say “Salve!” to Ramazzotti Wines

Joe Ramazzotti, a first-generation Italian-American, hand crafts his artisan wines in Geyserville, California, where palm trees stand sentry over his and wife Norma’s vineyard. Joe emigrated from Italy with his parents to the United States at the tender age of 8 a little more than half a decade ago. But if the style of his wines is any indication, his Old World roots have stayed with him.

Though most of the Ramazzotti wines are not made of grapes originating from Italy, that’s not surprising. Only a few grapes of Italian origin (such as Barbera and Sangiovese) grow in Alexander Valley and Dry Creek Valley where the Ramazzottis grow and source their grapes. Most of the area’s grapes are of French origin. Where Joe exercises his Old World muscle isn’t in his Italian roots, but his Old World style of winemaking.

Old World-style winemaking emphasizes terroir, a notion that “place” imparts character in wine. When someone says a wine is “reflective of its terroir” (literally translated as “soil”), what they mean is that the wine’s character largely is defined by qualities present in the vineyard. Soil, yes. But other environmental factors, too, such as altitude, sun exposure, drainage, climate and temperatures.

The winemaking expression “great wine is made in the vineyard” is closely related to the notion of terroir, and it’s a central tenant of Joe’s winemaking. Joe, who spent most of childhood’s spare moments helping out on his aunt’s ranch, studied pomology at Chico State followed by nearly 30 years managing vineyards for many of the wine growers and wineries in Sonoma County.

Joe met his wife Norma while attending Santa Rosa Junior College. The two are humble, grounded and sweetly in love. They also are true get-your-hands dirty entrepreneurs, working harvest side-by-side each other and their helpers. After years managing others' vineyards and hand crafting homemade wine for friends and family to high acclaim, the two launched their own full-fledged winery in 2002. A balanced partnership, Joe oversees more of what could be classified as the strategic parts of the business -- vineyards, harvest – while Norma manages the tactical parts of the business -- taking and fulfilling orders, managing compliance and keeping the books.

Lusty, earthy, meticulously handcrafted and most certainly reflective of terroir, the Ramazzotti wines not only reflect the endearing, spirited character of the AVAs from which they’re sourced, they reflect the endearing, spirited character of their proprietors. These wines are happy wines, and they’ll spread their cheer abundantly in your glass.