Category Archives: Claudio’s Blog

Well, after countless discussions between wine experts, scientists and consumers about which closure is best,  Continue Reading »

By Claudio Ponte Those of you who’ve visited the winery in the last 30 days  Continue Reading »

Earlier this year, Lauren Todd (Tasting Room Manager), Mark Schabel (Winemaker), Daniel Gomez (Enology consultant) and I traveled to Argentina to visit our vineyards, high up in the Andes Mountains.

Claudio Ponte When it comes to sustainability at Ponte, we don’t just talk the talk  Continue Reading »

One of the most frequently asked questions at the winery is how many bottles can a vine or an acre produce or some other variant of the same thing.

NO, NO, NO FOURS, I heard Grace Lee (our accountant and one of our partners) holler from her office. It was 2003 and I was on the line with Verizon, trying to get a phone number for the almost finished winery.

In the 90′s, before opening the winery, my brother and I decided to have some fun by making some garage wine.

Claudio Ponte Here at Ponte, we had the pleasure of seeing many of you and  Continue Reading »

In the October newsletter, I wrote about special wine growing areas and contrasted Temecula with its relatively mild weather, and the Santa Rita Hills with their cold, foggy winds. The upshot is that mild weather areas can produce a wide array of grape varieties, while more extreme areas can (and often do) produce one or two special varieties, expressing a very distinctive style…

The reason we finished the Angry Wife and left the Silver Oak is that the Angry Wife was purposely made to be easy to drink, while the latter was crafted to impress Robert Parker (the famed wine critic) and other wine ?experts?.

Claudio Ponte Those of you who read Part 1 of my article on wine competitions  Continue Reading »

Claudio Ponte Recently, a guest asked why we don’t have any medals hanging in the  Continue Reading »