Above the clouds

WILD Wine Life

A winery higher than the clouds

It all started with deer hunts here

Photos and Text

By RAY MAXWELL

Hunting Coastal Blacktail Deer in Sonoma, Calif. wine country above the fog layer is a dream come true and – a return to the roots of Wild Wine Life.

The origins of Wild Wine Life, like a grape vine, go deep and can be traced to deer hunts with members of the Pedroncelli family and many of their friends. It was deer hunting with this group that helped inspire the Wild Wine Life concept.

Located in the Dry Creek area of Sonoma, Pedroncelli Winery was founded in 1927 by two Italian immigrants, Giovanni and Julia Pedroncelli. You can find the fourth generation now working at the winery.

THE GRAND TOUR

We met our host, Richard Morehouse, a third generation family member, at the winery. Richard showed us the Mother Clone Zinfandel Vineyard. The vines that go into this wine were planted in 1904, and by any definition would be called ancient vines. These are also the vines that provided cuttings for many zinfandel vineyards in Dry Creek. Pedroncelli produces 16 wines, some available only at the winery.

We tasted five wines – Dry Zinfandel Rose 2021, Mother Clone Zinfandel 2020, Courage Zinfandel 2019, Wisdom Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, and Cabernet Franc 2019.

Pedroncelli was the first winery in the U.S. to produce a Dry Zinfandel Rose, and when you have been around for 95 years, the rich historical facts can fill any trophy room.

The Rose has a light color and clean, dry finish with strawberry, cranberry and spice.

CLONES AND VINES

The Mother Clone Zinfandel is made from grapes that are sourced from vines in 1904 and younger vines cloned from those vines. This wine brings in nice tannins with crisp acidity plus berries, bold fruit and spicey notes – a great everyday Zinfandel for anything from pasta to barbeque.

With Courage Zinfandel 2019, you discover a nice 100% Zinfandel wine that is big, bold, and jammy. There is a dried fruit component that provides some additional complexity to the wine.

Cabernet Franc 2019 provides bright, giant fruit, plum, berry, and cocoa with a hint of smoke on the back end. The huge tannins will allow this wine to hold up for years and work wonderfully with the largest steak or wild game dish. DEER CAMP

Everyone arrived that same evening, and no deer camp would be complete without the food. We enjoyed grilled venison burgers paired with the Mother Clone Zinfandel and Wisdom Cabernet. Some of the names in the group you will find on various wine bottles in the store, like Buchignani and Teldeschi, old growing families in Dry Creek.

Gooey Butter Cake is my deer camp tradition, and since first hunting with this group in 2005, I have gone from making one cake to baking three cakes for deer camp. We paired the Gooey Butter Cake with Simi Winery Sparkling Brut, since we were in the mood to drink some bubbles and Pedroncelli Four Grapes Port 2008.

The Simi Sparkling is a wonderful dry and fruity sparkling wine that pairs with everything; the Pedroncelli Four Grapes Port is a traditional style made port with coco, plum and vanilla flavors.

Like at every deer camp, the dinner was filled with laughter, predictions about the hunt for the next two days, and swapping other stories.

THE HUNT

The ranch we hunted is near Geyser Peak, and above the fog layer. There is a certain awe when you wake up and it feels as though you are hunting deer above the clouds. When the fog does finally burn off, you can see over 60,000 acres planted to vine below you and 11 American Viticultural Areas below you. The hunt also differs from my southern Missouri experience where you sit in a stand the entire time, or what I call “hurry up and wait.”

With large open areas and pockets of wooded area, we set up drives with sitters and walkers. I was fortunate to be a sitter during each of the drive hunts that weekend. I found it interesting that the blacktail bucks would push the does out in front of them when spooked and then later pop out or double back behind the walkers.

With a little rain just a couple weeks earlier, it was nice to actually see green in the hills, as opposed to the dried grass that you typically see this time of year.

About mid-day, Rick Buchignani harvested a beautiful 4x3 buck. This would be the only deer harvest that day, and the next day, Mitch Blakeley, one of Richard’s cousins at the winery, harvested his own 4x3 buck, finishing off deer season.

Throughout the hunts, we did see a lot of deer. Most were either does, or bucks that did not meet the minimum antler size. I am not going to complain about not seeing any rattlesnakes while deer hunting.

SATURDAY NIGHT,

BACK TO CAMP

If you want to truly celebrate a successful hunt, then Venison Tartare paired with a great wine has always been a favorite for our group. We used the tenderloins from Rick’s buck and I made Venison Tartare for the group that night and paired it with the Wisdom Cabernet Sauvignon 2018. The long, silky buttery tannins paired very well with the creamy texture of the Tartare. The mushroom notes from the wine with black

Pedroncelli Winery, founded in 1927, produces 16 wines.

fruit, smoke and vanilla on the finish make this a great wine that holds its own against wild game.

A WONDERFUL ENDING

I always say that any deer camp that ends safely for all involved, with meat on the table and good times for all involved, is a wonderful experience. Enjoying the experience in Wine Country truly enhances the entire trip.

TO LEARN MORE

Visit Wild Wine Life on Facebook or YouTube for the video version of this hunt and the recipes for Venison Tartare and Gooey Butter Cake. Please “LIKE” Wild Wine Life, Outdoor Guide Magazine and Pedroncelli Winery on Facebook or subscribe on YouTube.