In the past few years, some of the Northwest's most famous wineries successfully transitioned their winemaking duties from one generation to the next.
Ponzi Vineyards, however, has been operated by the second generation for 15 years, and the age-old motto of "like father, like son" doesn't apply to the winemaking.
"I often think about how lucky I am that my father made the transition so easy for me," said Luisa Ponzi, winemaker for Ponzi Vineyards in Beaverton, Ore. "Maybe with a daughter there's not the competition that a father might have with a son, but my father is a phenomenal person."
Dick and Nancy Ponzi - among Oregon's wine pioneers - taught their children well. It shows in the quality of the wines and their support of the Oregon wine industry, which includes The Dundee Bistro and adjoining Ponzi Wine Bar.
As a result, Ponzi Vineyards earned Wine Press Northwest's 2009 Oregon Winery of the Year.
"It's a beautiful thing. We all came back to the family business, and each of us feel that we've got the best job," Luisa said. "I would not want to go out and sell wine, but my sister, Maria, who has always been the more outgoing and social of us, loves to sell wine. My brother, Michel, a musician at heart, manages the finances and loves the detail of that. I was always the science kid."
In 1993, Luisa returned from France after making history as the first American female to earn a winemaking degree from her small college in Burgundy. At the time, the Willamette Valley winemaking sorority was small, too.
"Lynn Penner-Ash was here, and that was about it for women," she said.
In the eyes of Wine Press Northwest, Luisa, 41, makes headlines with her wines. The 2006 Dolcetto ranked near the top of our Italian Reds competition. The 2006 Vino Gelato, 2007 Riesling and 2007 Rosato Pinot Noir rosé each received "Outstanding!" ratings and the 2006 Pinot Gris earned an Excellent in double-blind tastings. Two entries scored well in our Pinot Noir competition, and the Reserve Chardonnay remains exemplary.
This year, the Ponzi 2007 Arneis was selected by famed chef Alice Waters to be served at her pre-inauguration benefit in Washington, D.C.
And while the economic timing was not ideal, the family crushed the 2008 vintage in a new environmentally friendly winery designed by the patriarch.
"The old winery was a really nice 10,000-case winery, and we were doing 30,000 cases," Luisa said. "It was just crazy! I still don't know how we did it. Here, we can comfortably do 50,000 cases, but in 2008, we only did 27,000 cases. The vintage threw us for a loop with a short crop."
The mother of four, wife of winemaker Eric Hamacher and voracious reader of Kent Haruf and Barbara Kingsolver novels, isn't tied to tradition, though, remaining a Northwest leader in screwcap enclosures.
"I am still frustrated by corks," she said. "I would love to put the reserves into screwcap, but I'm not completely confident the marketplace is ready for that."
The Ponzi family owns and farms 120 acres of LIVE (low-input viticulture and enology) certified sustainable vineyards, and there are plans for 25 more acres. Luisa wants new wines using aromatic whites Gewürztraminer, Huxelrebe and Muscat, but she may get outvoted.
"I feel very lucky every day that I get to work with my family," she said. "That's not to say there isn't any conflict. We are an Italian family, after all."
Ponzi Vineyards, 14665 SW Winery Lane, Beaverton, Ore., 97007, 503-628-1227, ponziwines.com.
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