Special Winemaker Tasting with Tony Coturri
Tony Coturri is the OG of California natural wine. 2024 marked Tony’s 61st harvest and 45th year in the wine business. From the outset, Tony has made wines without additives, cultured yeast, or sulphur–decades before “natural wine” became a thing. He has always worked with grapes free of pesticides, fungicides or herbicides. If you ask Tony “why?” he’ll just tell you that’s how his family always did it.
In 1901 his grandfather Enrico immigrated to San Francisco, where he worked as a cooper. He taught the traditional winemaking techniques of his Italian village to his son Harry “Red,” who in turn taught them to his sons Phil and Tony. On Sonoma Mountain, Tony carried on the tradition for decades, farming and sourcing organically grown fruit and making wine. His wines are unapologetically bold California reds that evoke the old world. They’re pure and rustic, yet structured and age-worthy. By sharing winery space and wisdom, Tony has also helped numerous natural winemakers get their start, including minimo favorites Ashanta, Caleb Leisure, Absentee Winery, and Etteilla Wines.
This is a focused tasting where attendees will taste through the wines together, facilitated by Tony. Only 16 seats are available. This is a rare opportunity to hear from Tony what it was like being an outlier in the industry, and trailblazer for natural wine–while tasting side-by-side vintages from his estate vineyard, as well as an older vintage showcasing how natural wine can age beautifully.
Featuring:
Pét-Nat Cider 2022
Red Non-Vintage Blend (Merlot, Grenache, Zinfandel)
Estate Zinfandel 2021
Estate Zinfandel 2022
Library Wine
Advanced tickets required, available here.