The Martinelli family's roots in the Russian River Valley reach back to 1887, when Giuseppe and Luisa Martinelli emigrated from Tuscany, settled near the small town of Forestville, and planted their first vineyards on a steep, exposed hillside that came to be known as Jackass Hill, said to be named because only a jackass would farm a slope that steep. The 60-degree Zinfandel block is still in production today and is among the oldest continuously farmed vineyards in California. Across four generations the family expanded into ranching, hop-growing, and apple orchards before consolidating around wine grapes; the current generation farms more than 470 acres in the Russian River Valley, Green Valley, and Fort Ross-Seaview appellations.
Jackass Hill Zinfandel, Russian River Valley: the icon; dry-farmed, head-pruned fruit from 140-year-old vines on the steepest non-terraced vineyard in Sonoma County.
Giuseppe & Luisa Zinfandel: grafted from the Jackass Hill budwood, bottled under the family's original 1880s label.
Blue Slide Ridge Pinot Noir: a prestige bottling from the family's extreme Sonoma Coast vineyard.
Estate Chardonnay, Russian River Valley: site-driven Chardonnay from the family's generations-old plantings.
Jackass Hill Muscat of Alexandria: a rare dessert-style white from 140-year-old vines interplanted in the historic Zinfandel block.
Lee Sr. and Carolyn Martinelli began making wine under the family's own label after decades of selling grapes to other producers. Helen Turley joined as consulting winemaker in 1992 and shaped the house style (small lots, native fermentation, generous oak) until 2010; today Courtney Robinett Wagoner is winemaker, with Erin Green as consulting winemaker. The lineup spans single-vineyard Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, and a deep array of Zinfandels, among them the Jackass Vineyard bottling. The tasting room on River Road in Windsor occupies a converted 1918 hop barn, with visits by reservation for seated flights focused on current releases and library selections, and a vineyard terrace tasting looks out over the Hop Barn Hill Vineyard.
