Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/333548
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m J u l y - A u g 2 014 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 6 7 Sonoma County winegrowing family matriarch looks backward and forward BY CHRISTOPHER SAWYER lthough she's not a winemak- er, 89-year-old Helen Baci- galupi has been committed for more than six decades to mak- ing the most out of the grapes her family farms in the heart of Sonoma County's Russian River Valley. It's a story that began when Helen met Charles Bacigalupi, a Sonoma County native whose grandfather had a winery on Chiq- uita Road outside of Healdsburg. The couple married and settled in Healdsburg, where Charles estab- lished a long career as a dentist and Helen worked a short stint as a pharmacist before becoming the family's official ranch keeper and accountant in 1956, when the Baci- galupis purchased the old Goddard Ranch on Westside Road, south- west of Healdsburg. The hillside property had 16 acres of vineyards planted to a classic field blend of zinfandel, alicante bous- chet, golden chasselas, muscat and mission. But at the time, the more lucrative crops on the property were orchard fruits and walnuts. Bacigalupis partnered with Peter Friedman of Belvedere Winery to bottle their first vineyard-designat- ed chardonnay as part of Belve- dere's Grapemaker Series. A few years later, the 1982 vintage won the Sonoma Harvest Fair Sweep- stakes and was eventually served at the White House. But the Bacig- alupis later ended their partnership with Belvedere's parent company, Healdsburg Wine Growers Inc., and the last chardonnay bottling from the vineyard was in 1987. As the demand for premium grapes expanded, the family began developing vineyards on newly pur- The family's focus shifted to grapegrowing in 1964, when a 14-acre parcel was planted to char- donnay and the first pinot noir vines to go in the ground on Westside Road. Once the new vineyard blocks were established, the Bacigalupis began selling grapes to Rodney Strong and the Foppiano and Seghe- sio families. In 1973, Helen sold 14 tons of chardonnay to Napa Valley's Chateau Montelena, which became 40% of the blend in the wine that bested the French in the famed 1976 "Judgment of Paris" tasting. At the end of the 1970s, the Helen Bacigalupi for Great Wineries Great Chiller Systems prochiller.com 800-845-7781 Auburn, WA | Mocksville, NC