Blogging the Birth of a Winery

November 18th, 2005 → 1:15 am @ Josh Hermsmeyer


Welcome to pintoblogger.com, a blog I’ve created to outline the long and painful processes involved in starting and building a family winery in the Russian River Valley.

I’ll be honest, just typing the words above was daunting. I have no illusions that the project will be either quick or painless, but, as they say, nothing worth doing ever is. How bad can things really get when you’ve got the opportunity to build something you are truly passionate about anyway? I guess we’ll find out!

Maybe I’ll look back on this blog three years from now shock myself at my own naivety. Maybe I’ll be a shattered man, broken on the rocks of eno-commerce. Or maybe we’ll have made some great, distinctive wine we’ll be proud to call our own. Either way it shakes out, it should be interesting to read.

Much of the details regarding the winery, including the name, have yet to be finalized – but check back here often as I’ll be updating as events warrant. (We are nearly settled on a name, and as soon as it’s finalized and the due dilagence and patent paperwork is finished I’ll post it here in dramatic fashion).

For the time being, here are some basic facts about the family Vineyard where our grapes are grown.

Rebecca’s Vineyard
Named for my Mom by my father, Craig, Rebecca’s consists of 17 Acres of Dijon 115, Pommard #4 and UCD # 32 clones, and it’s located on Laguna Rd. in the Laguna Ridge sub-appellation of the Russian River AVA. Google maps has a decent satellite view of the vineyard (The vineyard is just northwest of the red marker).

We currently sell the majority of our grapes to Gloria Ferrer, with whom we have a wonderful relationship. I have a special place in my heart for them as well since my wife and I were married on the back patio of the winery. They’re great people, and they make exceptional wines.

(BTW If you haven’t already, take a quick drive into Carneros and pick up a few bottles of their Brut Rose. It’s a perfect blend of 95% Pinot 5% Chardonnay and is not only my favorite Champagne, but it’s by far the best sparkling wine value on the market.)

With that I’ll sign off for now, but feel free to drop me a line at josh at pinotblogger dot com with some words of encouragement or with your well chosen, deeply cynical cautionary tale.