2024 · Pinot Gris

Founded by Dick and Nancy Ponzi in 1970, Ponzi is a pioneering Willamette Valley producer based in Sherwood, Oregon. The family’s estate vineyards in the Laurelwood District AVA include some of the valley’s oldest vines, with a focus on Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and other cool-climate varieties. All vineyards are LIVE Certified Sustainable and CCOF Organic; Ponzi co-founded LIVE certification and incorporates solar power, habitat preservation, and low-intervention, gravity-flow winemaking. Groupe Bollinger acquired the winery in 2021, while the operation remains family-run. Winemaking has passed from Dick Ponzi to his daughter Luisa and, since 2024, Max Bruening, an advocate of sustainable farming and low-intervention methods. The wines emphasize bright acidity, aromatic detail, fruit, spice, structure, and site expression.