Peju Province Winery: Napa Valley, California
What is the name of your Winery?
Peju Province Winery
Tell us a bit about the wineries history.
It was the love of farming and a passion for wine that brought the Peju’s to the Napa Valley more than 25 years ago. After selling their nursery business in Southern California to purchase a 30-acre wild, overgrown vineyard in Rutherford, Tony and his wife Herta embarked upon a journey to transform the land and its bounty from a vision into a reality. The family’s humble winemaking efforts began inside their garage, then a makeshift tasting room, and have since grown into one of Napa Valley’s most notable landmarks and a celebrated 35,000-case wine operation. Lisa and Ariana Peju have also joined the family business, paving the way into the future. Our vineyards are a combination of certified organic and sustainable, with the goal of achieving organic certification for all in the next few years. In addition, we are one of only 18 wineries to earn certification as a Napa Green Winery and Bay Area Green Business. Still focused on our early commitment to produce high-quality wines for a wide range of palates, we pride ourselves on offering the majority of our wines directly to guests in the tasting room and through the Peju Wine Club.
What awards have you won?
“Winner of the 2007 American Winery Architecture Award.” – Annual Great Wine Capital Awards
Winner of the “Best of Napa” in the Winery Category – U.S. Local Business Association, 2008
“Top Artisan Winery of the Year.” – Wine and Spirits Magazine
“Top Ten California Red Blends.” – Quarterly Review of Wines on Peju’s 2005 Fifty/Fifty
What is your specialty? What wine are you best known for?
Peju is known as a Bordeaux house, so Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot…but, we also produce Zinfandel and Syrah, and make some lovely whites, including Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay….we have a few roses in the portfolio as well – a Rose of Syrah, a proprietary blend of finished red & white wines blended called “Provence”, and Peju Pink, a blush wine made to support breast cancer patient care and treatment.
What is your personal favorite type of wine?
Everything Peju!
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in purchasing a versatile wine that would compliment most foods.
Drink what you like.
What challenges have you faced in the vineyard? Weather? Pests? Other?
When you’re in agriculture and working hand-in-hand with Mother Nature, you have to be prepared for everything…spring frost, late rains during harvest, extremes in temperatures, anything can happen, you just have to be ready to handle anything that comes your way. When it comes to pests and other predators, we utilize nature vs. nature such as releasing mites into the vineyard to eat harmful pests, building owl boxes throughout the vineyard so that owls make a home and keep away the ground predators, strategically plant specific cover crops, etc.
What plans are on the horizon for the winery?
A second generation of Peju’s, Ariana & Lisa, are learning all aspects of the family business to take the winery into the future. We are strongly committed to running a sustainable wine operation, which includes our organic farming certification, Napa Green Winery certification and solar power. On the winemaking side of things,we look forward to winemaker Sara Fowler adding some more new and exciting wines to the portfolio. She’s an extremely creative blender, putting together new wines for Peju such as the Fifty/Fifty (50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon) red blend, which has been named by Quarterly Review of Wines as one of California’s Top Ten Red Blends, and also just received a ‘94’ in Wine Enthusiast Magazine…she’s also created the lovely Dry Rose of Syrah, the Peju Pink (a significant wine to support breast cancer patient care), and a few other wine-club exclusive wines. Sara’s leadership in the vineyard and cellar is taking Peju to a whole new level.
Do you have any seasonal events that you hold, say at harvest time or when a new batch of wine is ready?
Every year we host an annual harvest party and grape stomp in September to celebrate the current harvest. It’s our most popular event – guests travel from all over the country to take part. The day begins with a competition grape stomp in the afternoon – it’s a blast and everyone really gets into it – we have great wine prizes for the winners! In the evening, everyone returns to the winery for a themed evening party which includes a “Marketplace” event with local food & art purveyors, followed by dinner and a blessing of the harvest grapes, and then dancing to a live band. Of course, Peju wines take the spotlight, so we have tastings throughout the night and Peju wines also paired with dinner, and we feature many limited production and library wines for our guests. It’s a fantastic event and really gets our guests, the winery staff, and the Peju family into the spirit of harvest!
For More Information Visit: http://www.peju.com/
(photo credits: Rocco Ceselin)
(Aerial photo: Peju Province Winery)
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