Ponzi Vineyards

Before moving north, Dick Ponzi worked as a mechanical engineer in California, where he designed rides for Disneyland in the 1960s. In 1969 he moved his family from California to Oregon, and in 1970 he planted Ponzi Vineyards, the third winery in the state. He taught himself viticulture and fabricated his own equipment. He and his wife Nancy raised three children in the vineyard. Dick Ponzi also co-founded BridgePort Brewing, one of Oregon's first craft breweries. In 1975 the winery planted Abetina Vineyard in the Laurelwood District alongside Oregon State University, and in 1997 it co-founded LIVE Certification. By the time of the 2021 sale, Dick and Nancy Ponzi had handed control of the winery to their children nearly 30 years earlier.

• 1969: Dick Ponzi moves his family from California to Oregon
• 1970: Ponzi Vineyards planted as the third winery in Oregon
• 1975: Abetina Vineyard planted in the Laurelwood District alongside Oregon State University
• 1981: first commercial Pinot Gris produced in the United States, per the winery
• 1997: co-founded LIVE Certification

Luisa Ponzi, Dick and Nancy's daughter, graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelor of Science and then received a post-graduate degree in viticulture and enology from the CFPPA in Beaune; the winery states she was the first non-French woman to do so. She became Ponzi's second winemaker in 1993. The winery credits her as a driving force in making Chardonnay a key variety in Oregon. She was a founding member of the Oregon LIVE certification and was instrumental in the creation of the Laurelwood District AVA. In 2024 she transitioned to the role of Legacy Winemaker. At the time of the 2021 sale, sisters Anna Maria and Luisa Ponzi had worked as CEO and winemaker, respectively. Anna Maria Ponzi was to lead sales and marketing during the transition, and Luisa was to continue as director of viticulture and winemaking.

• Luisa Ponzi: Portland State University (Bachelor of Science), then a post-graduate degree in viticulture and enology from the CFPPA in Beaune
• Second winemaker in the winery's history, from 1993; Legacy Winemaker from 2024
• Credited by the winery with championing Chardonnay; instrumental in creating the Laurelwood District AVA
• Anna Maria Ponzi was CEO at the time of the 2021 sale

In April 2021 the Bollinger family, owners of Champagne Bollinger, bought Ponzi Vineyards through its holding company, Société Jacques Bollinger (SJB). It was Bollinger's first winery purchase outside France. The deal included 35 acres of vineyards, while the Ponzi family retained 100 acres and would sell grapes under a long-term contract. Production at the time was 30,000 cases annually. In October 2021 Jean-Baptiste Rivail, previously general manager of Newton Vineyards in Napa Valley, became CEO of Ponzi Vineyards and executive vice president of SJB USA, the first non-family member to serve as the winery's CEO. The Bollinger partnership brought Simonit & Sirch vine renewal to Laurelwood.

• Buyer: the Bollinger family, through its holding company Société Jacques Bollinger (SJB)
• Deal included 35 acres of vineyards; the Ponzi family retained 100 acres under a long-term grape contract
• Jean-Baptiste Rivail named CEO in October 2021
• Simonit & Sirch vine renewal introduced under the Bollinger partnership

The winery farms nearly 150 acres across the Laurelwood District and Willamette Valley, and every estate vineyard is LIVE Certified Sustainable. The Laurelwood District is windblown loess over volcanic basalt; the winery says that in 2020 it became America's first appellation defined by geology, not just geography. The six estate vineyards are the Historic Estate (planted 1970, Willamette Valley AVA) and, in the Laurelwood AVA, Abetina (1975), Madrona (1983), Aurora (1991), Avellana (2006) and Paloma (2012). Abetina, Madrona and Avellana are CCOF Organic Certified. The tasting room overlooks Avellana Vineyard and the Chehalem Mountains.

• Historic Estate: planted 1970, 100 to 200 feet, Willamette Valley AVA; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling
• Abetina: planted 1975, 450 to 500 feet, Laurelwood AVA; Pinot Noir
• Madrona: planted 1983, 300 to 600 feet, Laurelwood AVA; Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris
• Aurora: planted 1991, 300 to 600 feet, Laurelwood AVA; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris
• Avellana: planted 2006, 340 to 600 feet, Laurelwood AVA; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris
• Paloma: planted 2012, 800 to 900 feet, Laurelwood AVA; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay

Dick Ponzi designed the winery himself: a four-level gravity-flow facility built into the Chehalem Mountains slope in 2008, in which wine moves from crush pad to fermentation to barrel room to bottle by gravity alone. Fruit is hand-sorted, reds are destemmed without crushing and whites are pressed whole cluster. Fermentation relies on native yeasts and spontaneous malolactic fermentation, in small lots, with French oak barrels selected by vineyard. Ponzi was one of the first Oregon wineries to receive LIVE Winery Certification. Max Bruening, a Northern Michigan native, began his wine career in 2009, worked his first Oregon harvest in 2015 with Penner-Ash Wine Cellars, and joined Ponzi Vineyards in January 2016. In 2024 he became the first person outside the Ponzi family to hold the title of winemaker. The winery describes its wines as built for the table, structured by the wind and lifted by the elevation.

• Four-level gravity-flow winery built in 2008, designed by Dick Ponzi
• Native yeasts, spontaneous malolactic fermentation, small lots, French oak selected by vineyard
• Max Bruening joined in January 2016 and became winemaker in 2024

The range falls into three series. The Single Vineyard Expressions are the Abetina, Aurora, Avellana, Chehalem Crossing, Madrona and Paloma Pinot Noirs and the Aurora and Avellana Chardonnays. The Laurelwood Series comprises the Laurelwood Chardonnay, the Laurelwood Pinot Noir and the Pinot Noir Reserve. The Willamette Valley Series includes the Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir Rosé, Tavola Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, Mountain Home Pinot Noir, Tasting Notes Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, Vino Gelato, Blanc De Blancs and Sparkling Brut Rosé.

• Single Vineyard Expressions: Abetina, Aurora, Avellana, Chehalem Crossing, Madrona and Paloma Pinot Noir; Aurora and Avellana Chardonnay
• Laurelwood Series: Laurelwood Chardonnay, Laurelwood Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir Reserve
• Willamette Valley Series: Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir Rosé, Tavola, Mountain Home Pinot Noir, Tasting Notes, Vino Gelato, Blanc De Blancs, Sparkling Brut Rosé

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.ponzivineyards.com/, https://www.ponzivineyards.com/pages/history, https://www.ponzivineyards.com/pages/laurelwood, https://www.ponzivineyards.com/pages/winemaking, https://www.ponzivineyards.com/pages/visit, https://www.ponzivineyards.com/pages/trade-media, https://www.ponzivineyards.com/collections/all-wine, https://www.ponzivineyards.com/collections/single-vineyard-expressions, https://www.ponzivineyards.com/collections/laurelwood-series, https://www.ponzivineyards.com/collections/the-willamette-valley-series, https://www.ponzivineyards.com/collections/pinot-noir. Secondary sources: Wine Spectator (April 7, 2021), Decanter (April 8, 2021), The Drinks Business (October 5, 2021). Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs. Last verified 2026-10-12