Like Goldilocks tasting the Three Bears porridge, we continue to seek the “sweet little one.” Closer to the mark and complex in a truly Italian style, Ponzi Dolcetto, from the estate vineyard atop the Chehalem Mountains, is another delicious wine. Look for aromas of earthy dried cherry, strawberry, citrus, floral perfume and light toast. The palate is juicy with strawberry, citrus and vanilla.

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Sommelier Rajat Parr walks through a tasting of great wines for the holidays. Do your own tasting of these wines with a gift pack of 50ml bottles from Tastingroom.com. Right now you can buy the West Coast Pinots wine sampler pack, which includes the 2009 Ponzi Pinot Noir, for just $29.99. Sample six Pinots, then buy your favorites. The wine sampler packs also make great gifts paired with a gift card to Tastingroom.com.

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Who: Luisa Ponzi
Winery: Ponzi Vineyards
When the company was started: 1970
By whom: Dick and Nancy Ponzi

Luisa Ponzi, who became winemaker at Ponzi more than 18 years ago, has come a long way since she first started working in the family business.

“I first began working at the winery before I remember working at the winery,” she deadpans. “There are pictures of me helping at age one or two, though actual useful work probably didn’t occur until I was a teenager and learned the value of money.”

Her parents were among the first to plant Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley, and achieved immediate winemaking success—something Luisa showed interest at an early age. But her mature and confident winemaking techniques didn’t come into fruition until she studied viticulture.

After earning her Bachelor of Science from Portland State University, Luisa moved to Beaune, in the heart of Burgundy, to continue her viticulture and enology education. She apprenticed with Christophe Roumier of Domaine Roumier and later, with Luca Currado of Vietti in Piedmont, Italy, and in 1993, was the first woman to earn Certficate Brevet Professionnel D’Oenologie et Viticulture.

In 1996, while working at Ponzi, Luisa hit a turning point when her father took time off during harvest, propelling her into winemaking. “In retrospect, I think that may have been a calculated move to let me prove to myself that I could handle it,” Luisa recalls. “At the time, however, I remember some panic.”

Today, Ponzi remains a familial property. Luisa’s sister, Maria Ponzi Fogelstrom, is the director of sales and marketing and her parents still provide what she calls “the big picture view.”

Latest endeavors: Luisa defines her role as the link between the legacy and the next generation. “In the past 15 years, my brother, sister and I have grown the business from farming 50 acres to over 120 acres; our production has grown from 10,000 to 50,000 cases and we built a new state-of-the-art winery in 2008. Our intentions are to maintain our current production while continuing to farm our land in a responsible way, take care of our employees, produce high quality wines, spread the word on Oregon wine and have fun doing all of it!”

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"Strongly oaky at first sniff, this barrel-fermented reserve went through complete malolactic fermentation and a year and a half of barrel aging. The complexity comes out as it breathes open, a mélange of nuanced fruit including guava, peach, pineapple and green apple. Skin phenolics (from whole-cluster pressing) add some bite to the lengthy finish." P.G. (8/1/2011)