Wine Made by Legendary Winemaker : Tom Rinaldi

A Napa Valley icon, Tom was raised in San Francisco and made frequent
trips to Napa on his motorcycle, buying wines directly from the wineries of the day.

After four years in the Navy, Tom enrolled at UC
Davis along with notable classmates Mike Martini, Tim Mondavi, Randy Dunn, and Bob Levy.
Tom’s career began at Freemark Abbey, an experience he calls “a
great job, and a great honor.” In 1978, Tom became the founding
winemaker at Duckhorn Vineyards.
After 22 vintages of creating some of Napa’s most celebrated wines, in
2000 Tom helped launch Provenance Vineyards and Hewitt Vineyard from
the ground up.

Tom’s 2010 Hewitt Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was
named to the Wine Spectator’s Top 10 in the world for 2013, and the #1 Wine in
California.

Tom became Pellet Estate’s winemaker starting with the 2013 vintage.

All our Chardonnay is sourced from the Sun Chase Vineyard located
in the Petaluma Gap AVA. The vineyard is perched high above the
fog on the Sonoma Coast at an elevation of between 900-1,400′,
where the Petaluma Wind Gap collides with Sonoma Mountain just
over the Napa County border.

90 – “Attractive notes of lemon blossom, tangerine oil and melon jump from the glass of the 2016 Chardonnay Sunchase Vineyard Un-oaked. With nice body, good purity and plenty of personality and character, it should drink well for 5-6 years. It proves that Chardonnay does not need oak to taste good. Pellet Estate’s two cuvées of Chardonnay give consumers a choice between oaked and un-oaked versions.  – Robert Parker, Wine Advocate