Show Notes
In this episode of The Good Stuff presented by the Sonoma County Winegrowers, hosts Virginie Boone and Karissa Kruse talk with George Martinelli, Owner & Farmer at Martinelli Family Winery & Tessa Martinelli Gorsuch, Estate Director at Martinelli Winery & Vineyards.
George Martinelli, fifth generation Sonoma County farmer on his mother’s side, and fourth on his father’s side. He was born in Sonoma County in 1969. At the age of 10, George was driving a tractor and running an apple crew in the family orchards, which he still manages. Throughout the years he worked with his father learning the art of viticulture. In 2008 George received the Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year Award from the Sonoma County Harvest Fair. George works closely with his father and brother in the vineyards as well as being active in the family winery with his sisters and mother. He currently farms his own vineyards & manages others. George is one of the founders of the El Molino High School Foundation that raises money for his alma mater. When he is not working, George enjoys fishing, hunting & camping on our family’s Sonoma Coast Ranch with his family & friends, especially his wife & two daughters.
Tessa is a 5th generation Martinelli and grew up on the family’s Bondi Home Ranch vineyard in Sebastopol. Growing up with both sides of her family in the wine business, she had a passion for the industry from a young age and knew that is what she wanted to study. She received a BS in Wine and Viticulture and a minor in Agribusiness from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, and while there, she studied abroad at Switzerland’s Engineering School of Enology at Changins (EIC) in Lausanne.
Upon graduation she worked as a cellar harvest intern making wine at a small winery in Healdsburg. Since then, Tessa has worked for wineries in both Dry Creek Valley and Sonoma Valley, growing her experience in business, marketing, wine club management, tasting room management, events, hospitality and more.
In January 2020 she joined the family business and is thrilled to be back to her roots working in Russian River Valley, as the Estate Director of Martinelli Winery and Vineyards.
The Martinelli Family History: A Century Club Family – 135+ Years of Farming
The Martinelli family has been farming grapes and making wine in Sonoma County since the 1880s, when Giuseppe Martinelli immigrated from Italy at age 19 and started his winery. After eloping with Luisa Vellutini, they planted Zinfandel and Muscat Alexandria on a steep 60-degree slope, which became the Jackass Hill vineyard, still the steepest non-terraced vineyard in California. In the 1980s, Giuseppe’s grandson, Lee Martinelli Sr., and his wife Carolyn started their own winery in the Russian River Valley, and now, for the first time, three generations of Martinelli’s work together in the family business: Lee Sr., his children George, Lee Jr. and Julianna, and granddaughter Tessa; Lee and Carolyn’s other daughter Regina recently stepped away to focus on her growing family. Today, Martinelli Winery specializes in estate-grown Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and Syrah. With 475 acres across the Russian River Valley and Fort Ross-Seaview AVAs, the family sells most of its grapes to other vintners, keeping a small portion for their own wines. Winemaker Courtney Wagoner and consulting winemaker Erin Green craft wines that highlight the unique character of vineyards. The Martinelli Family has 6 generations of winegrowers and farmers.
And finally, Virginie and Karissa share their Tuesday Night wine picks!
