GiaDomella Wines: Russian River’s Oldest Secret

The highlight of this past weekend’s excursion to the Russia River Valley was our discovery of GiaDomella Wines. GiaDomella was everything a small winery should be – the highest quality wine but all the stuffiness of an impromptu neighborhood barbeque. Their wines include the 2007 GiaDomella Reserve Zinfandel, 2007 Russian River Valley Zinfandel, and 2006 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. All three were hugely fruit forward with firm (but not-too-dry) structure on the backend. We sampled a lot of wine last weekend, but these three bottlings were the best of the bunch. Their Reserve Zin is from 100 year old vines on their property, and ranks with the best zinfandels I’ve ever had. The wines aren’t Plonk-priced, but they’re also not unreasonably priced for the value delivered.

Arranged by friends, our party was warmly greeted by Richard and Victoria Passalacqua who graciously provided a private tasting of wines paired with cheese, salami and fruit. The Passalacquas, who undoubtedly could not have anticipated the traveling circus that is the Plonk family (Joe, TheWife, Squeak and her dog Cecil), made us feel more like family than guests.

If you haven’t heard of the Passalacqua family, it’s largely due to the fact that they historically have sold their grapes to other wineries in the area. Their fruit is sourced directly from their E Passalacqua Family Estate Vineyard, which has been in their family since the late 1890’s. They wisely, however, kept a small (but growing) amount of their best grapes for their own use. Their “GiaDomella” name is a combination of the names of Richard and Victoria’s three children -- Gianna, Dominic and Marcella. And, while you may not know them now, you will soon.

Best, Joe Plonk

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