Gamba Vineyards and Winery
Sonoma County region
Zinfandel vines are documented to be over 115 years old
The insight to Gamba Vineyards and Winery can be found in two simple facts. First, Gamba’s founder Gus Gamba, is the sixth generation of his family in the wine business and, secondly, all the Zinfandel vines that comprise his 27-acre vineyard are documented to be over 120 years old.
Now, for the rest of the story.
It seems that around 1910, Gus Gamba’s grandfather, a winemaker by trade, left his native Northern Italian village of Millesimo in the foothills of the Swiss Alps. He initiated a series of trips to the United States, and to Northern California in particular. Grandfather Gamba returned to Italy with glowing reports about the opportunities and advantages of what was still considered by some to be frontier land.
His son, Agostino Gamba, was so impressed with his father’s stories and descriptions that he decided to immigrate along with his sister in 1930, and ultimately settled in the peninsula area just below San Francisco. Even though Agostino was a winemaker similar to his father, he ultimately opened a successful restaurant in Redwood City.
Agostino began making trips up to the Sonoma region, whose terrain reminded him of his native region in Italy. He eventually became friends with a grape grower named Cesare Barbieri who owned an old Zinfandel vineyard that had been planted in 1900. Agostino then made a deal to buy the vineyard in small pieces and today’s Gamba Vineyards and Winery is the namesake of that original Zinfandel vineyard. Agostino Gamba began farming the old vines and through the years, sold his grapes to a number of clients.
In 1983, Agostino Gamba passed away, leaving the vineyards in the hands of his son, Agostino ‘Gus’ Gamba, who was then a mere seventeen years old. Since the entire family had worked the vines on the weekends and summers, Gus felt it his place to carry on his father’s traditions. He first attended the University of California Santa Barbara and earned a business economics degree, but his father’s vineyards always remained foremost in his mind.
Gus devoted all his spare time to the Sonoma property and in 1995, finally moved his family to a renovated farmhouse in the middle of the vineyards. He developed a relationship with Bob Cabral (of Alderbrook and late William Seylem fame), who decided to vineyard designate an Old Vine Zinfandel and the concept of Gamba Vineyards was born.
“I really approach our vineyards quite tenderly,” Gamba remarked. “Due to their age, we only get about a half to one ton per acre, depending on the conditions. Everything is dry farmed and organically grown, much like it was when the vines were first planted. Through the years, the quality hasn’t suffered because I really don’t push the vines.”
Gus Gamba is incredibly passionate about his Old Vine Zinfandel and his classic approach to farming that he refers to as “a true labor of love.” He is proud to point out that he treats each vine individually and over time has grown to know each plant’s unique tendencies.
“My neighbors think I am crazy,” he explained, “because my type of farming takes a great deal of time and isn’t really financially sound. I use the old head pruning method and limit each spur to only two buds.”
The 2000 Old Vine Zinfandel was Gamba Vineyards and Winery’s initial release. Gus purposely limited production to only 500 cases because he only used the best grapes he could gather from his ancient vines. His following vintages have slowly raised the winery’s production to its current level of between 2,500 and 3,000 cases, but Gus Gamba doesn’t intend that number to rise much more than that.
“We are not interested in anything big,” he added, including his wife Paulette (and their three children), who also have a major stake in the winery’s future. “I can control the quality at this level and that’s all I’m interested in.”
Everything seems to fit neatly together for the youngish winery owner and his family.
Small production wines from superb geriatric vineyards that are made in the classic Italian tradition - what more could anyone ask for?
We're happy to introduce our Platinum Wine Club subscription members to this fantastic bottling!
Map of the area
Dear Platinum Wine Club Members,
Gamba Vineyards and Winery is delighted to offer members the premiere release of our critically acclaimed 2018 Gamba Estate MCM Zinfandel in exciting newly redesigned packaging.
The milestone year of 2020 represents the 120th year of the Gamba Estate Vineyard, planted in 1900, thus the addition of the Roman numeral MCM (1900) designation on the label. Several generations of family experience in wine grape growing guide our farming decisions in the vineyards. Nestled on the gently rolling hills of the beautiful Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, our celebrated and historic Zinfandel vineyard is organically grown and dry farmed, relying on rainwater for its irrigation. Foggy mornings, warm days and cool nights provide ideal growing conditions at our exceptional site in the Russian River Valley. This treasured Old Vine vineyard site consistently produces intense benchmark grapes, bold yet refined in character, year after year. The berry clusters for our wines are meticulously double hand sorted prior to destemming during harvest to assure the fruit is of the highest quality.
2018 was an exceptional vintage. The quality of the clusters, the flavorful juice, and the proportionate amount of natural acidity produced some stunning wines for the Gamba portfolio; they are fruit-driven, with a very good sense of place, structure, and complexity, showing a wonderful focus from all our vineyard sites.
We wish to offer our thanks to you, the Platinum Wine Club members, for sharing with us in this special, commemorative release of the 2018 Gamba Estate MCM Zinfandel. It is our desire at Gamba, as always, to bring you only the best.
We would love to hear from you. Please feel free to visit us at www.GambaWinery.com or contact us at [email protected] with any questions you may have regarding our wines. And, to keep up with all that is happening in the winery and vineyards, please follow us on Instagram and Facebook, at Gamba Vineyards and Winery. Salute!
Kindest Regards,
Agostino Gamba
Owner
Dear Platinum Wine Club Members,
We are honored to offer our award-winning Gamba 2012 Old Vine “Gamba Estate Vineyard” Russian River Valley Zinfandel to the Gold Medal Wine Club.
Planted in the Russian River Valley on gently rolling terrain above the valley floor, the Gamba Estate Vineyard has been organically grown since its original planting in 1900, without the use of pesticides or herbicides of any kind for over 115 years. The vineyard is dry farmed, relying on the winter rains for the sole source of irrigation, thus producing low yields of very intensely flavored berries.
We at Gamba strive to capture this wonderful berry intensity during our gentle winemaking process, using indigenous yeasts to achieve the purest expression of flavors, and bring them to your glass. This treasured and historic vineyard site is truly a shining star among the relatively few old vine vineyards left in Sonoma County, and we are honored to share its glorious bounty with you.
Thank you and enjoy!
Agostino Gamba
Owner
.jpg)
