ASK THE GROWER
Gary Francisioni, owner of Rosella's Vineyard and co-owner of Garys's Vineyard.
If you have any questions you would like to ask one of our growers, please email them to wine@testarossa.com and we'll try to include them in future grower interviews!
How did you decide the location to plant/purchase your vineyard?
GF:. In our case, Rosella's Vineyard has been in the family for three generations so fortunately being in the Santa Lucia Highlands Appellation, we then only had to decide what and when to plant.
How did you decide what varietal(s) and clone(s) to choose for your vineyard?
GF: After researching plant material, I decided that I wanted to try the new Dijon clones that had just become available in California in 1996. So not knowing how they would turn out, I chose 8 Pinot clones and 4 Chardonnay clones. It was probably more of a choice of experimentation than anything else as it turns out each one clone has a different profile which gives
so much complexity to Rosella's Vineyard.
Do you practice organic, biodynamic, or sustainable farming practices? If so, why or why not?
GF: We practice sustainable farming. Organic would be too difficult in our area as my neighboring ranch in 1975 was named the mildew capital of the state.
What do you feel are the two biggest factors that affect the ultimate quality of your grapes (e.g. soil type/structure, climate, slope, plant material, viticultural practices, etc)?
GF: I believe that there are more than two factors. If I had to choose two things, they would be climate and viticultural practices. You can't buy our coastal fog marine layer and even though you could have all the terrior factors of climate, soil, sun exposure without great viticultural practices you would still have average quality grapes.
How long have you and/or your family been in the wine/grape growing business?
GF: Once again, farming for three generations including vegetables and citrus. We have only been in the viticulture business since 1996.
From a growers perspective, what have been the easiest and hardest vintages the last 10 years and why?
GF: The hardest vintage was probably 2004 as we had six out of eight days the first week of September that were 100 degree. This made it very difficult to have the crop ripen properly. There was a lot of dehydration and raisoning going on. Although it was the hardest vintage, the wine still turned out to be very good. The easiest vintage may have been our most recent, 2007. The crop was so light we had to do hardly any crop thinning other than green thinning. With little winter rainfall, canopy management was in natural form with hardly any handwork. During the
fall the climate was so even with no heat spikes that everything just ripened perfectly and is probably why they are calling it "the best vintage in the last 30 years."
What would you like to tell wine lovers/consumers that they probably don’t know about vineyards?
GF: You have to be patient as it is a long term investment and by the time you plant to the time the grape hits the bottle, it's 6 years. It takes a long time to learn about your first decisions. Viticulture is farming, so we are surrounded by the elements of weather that are always
uncontrollable by us. So therefore, every vintage is different and a challenge.
