Tag: three generations

Last year when the 2015 Sonoma County Harvest Fair honored the Trione family with the esteemed Methuselah Award for their lifetime contribution to the Sonoma County Wine Industry, the timing couldn’t have been better. The year 2015 also marked the 10th year making wine under their own label. Through the decades, three generations—Henry Trione, sons Mark and Vic, and Mark’s daughter Denise—have developed an outstanding reputation for producing premium grapes and outstanding wines. Their portfolio now includes a Bordeaux blend that pays homage to Henry, the family’s patriarch, fittingly called Henry’s Blend.

Van Ruiten Family Winery in Lodi, California, was founded 15 years ago, but its wine-growing history dates back more than 65 years. The winery was founded on John Van Ruiten Sr.’s philosophy that "exceptional grape growing should focus on the quality of grapes that come out of the vineyard, not the quantity."

The addition of Winemaker Matt Ridge in 2012 helped fortify this philosophy. With a bachelor’s degree in biology and minors in chemistry and geology, Matt understands winemaking from the molecular level up. Matt claims it wasn’t until his first vintage in 1999 when he tasted the flavor transition from fruit to bottle that he fully caught the "wine bug."