"Let the Vineyards Authentically Speak Through the Wines"
Every vineyard – especially those worthy of single vineyard wine – is unique and should be farmed and vinified to make the statement, “This wine can only be grown and made here.”
In my mind, I know exactly what the perfect wine from each Estate Vineyard should be, how it should smell, taste and change both in the glass that evening and in the bottle during a decade of aging. This ideal – distinct for each vineyard – guides the countless decisions, big and small, that we make from vine pruning through harvesting, blending, aging and bottling. We’re focused – and a little obsessed – on getting that ideal, perfect wine into the bottle. It’s no easy task.
To do it consistently, and across several different varietals, each wine needs an extremely light winemaking touch so the vineyard itself can define the wine. When grapes are grown well and harvested at the right time, all we want to do in the winery is coax them in the right direction and make sure they are headed where we want them to go.
Balance and elegance are the two qualities we aim for in our wines.
“In addition, I strive for what I think of as “Deliciousness.” The overall goal for every wine we grow and make is to create something that elicits that spark of excited pleasure when tasted and shared. It should be something you smell and taste and then think “Oh, that’s good” and take another sip. And that, in my eyes, is success. ”
This usually translates into wines that are lower in alcohol, higher in natural acidity and have varied and subtle flavors. Wines where new oak barrels are used sparingly to enhance the wine, not dominate it.
We make it this way because the wines we most love are ones that compliment a meal, as well as, change and evolve in the glass throughout dinner.
Out of our 850 acres of Russian River Valley vineyards, we currently harvest an equivalent of only 60 acres to make the Balletto wines. By selecting only the top 10 percent of everything we grow, we are able to maintain a consistent quality and style.
Our goal is that you enjoy drinking our wines as much as we enjoyed making them.
Anthony Beckman | Winemaker & VP
Anthony has made Balletto Vineyards wine since 2007 when he was hired as the assistant winemaker. In his first career, he worked as a daily news reporter for prominent newspapers in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, and later moved into the technology world in San Francisco. At age 29, he vowed not to spend his 30th birthday working in a standard office cubicle doing a job so far removed from food & wine. So he quit his tech job, enrolled in chemistry courses and ended up turning 30 while knee deep in Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. After working the wine harvest in New Zealand, he came back to California and worked for three years as the wine buyer for Taylor's Market, a gourmet wine store in Sacramento, CA while putting himself through UC Davis' Viticulture and Enology program. He spent each morning in classes learning the theoretical chemistry and microbiology behind winemaking and each afternoon sampling dozens of wines from around the world. It was the perfect combination of intellectual learning and hedonistic training. Anthony graduated from UCD with high honors and department-wide recognition. He then worked at some of the premiere vineyards and wineries in Carneros and the Sonoma Coast before joining the Balletto team.
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