Guy & Bob at AIWF dinner 2012
Many of you may have had the opportunity to enjoy the AIWF holiday dinner featuring the wines of Gloria Ferrer. If you did, you had the pleasure of meeting Bob Iantosca, long time winemaker at Gloria Ferrer. Either way, before Bob left town I had the chance to sit down and chat with him about his interesting journey in wine and to learn about his passion for winemaking…Join us this Saturday and learn about one of California’s finest producers of sparkling wine and pinot noir.
BOB IANTOSCA – Executive Winemaker
Bob Iantosca has created more award-winning California sparkling wines than any other single winemaker. His vision and desire for challenge were revealed to the Ferrer family in the 1980s, when searching for available Pinot Noir clones led him initially to clonal trails on the estate vineyard with VP Production Mike Crumly, and eventually to visits to Champagne for greater research. Twenty years later, he is an undisputed expert in heritage vine selections. With the support of the Ferrer family and their Old World approach to winemaking, complemented by his close collaboration with Mike Crumly, Bob has cultivated Gloria Ferrer’s estate vineyards from 20 to 335 acres, experimented with some 20 Chardonnay and Pinot Noir selections, and led the winery to expand its repertoire to include intensely flavorful cool-climate estate varietal wines.
Bob Iantosca’s wife, Julia, is also a winemaker. They live in Santa Rosa, where their professions extend into their personal lives with the cultivation of more than six acres of Pinot Noir. When not making wine, Iantosca enjoys spending time with their daughters, Catherine and Elizabeth, mountain biking, steelhead fishing, and outdoor cooking.
Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
NV Gloria Ferrer Brut
TASTING NOTES – Delicate pear and floral notes backed by toasty almond. On the palate, one finds lively citrus, toast and apple flavors overlaid with persistent effervescence, a creamy mid-palate and toasty finish.
WINEMAKING NOTES – The Sonoma Brut has been carefully crafted entirely from hand-harvested Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. Over forty different selections of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are planted on our 340-acre estate in the Sonoma Carneros district. It is this viticultural diversity that allows us to consistently produce cuvées with complexity and clear fruit expression. The Brut is dominated by Pinot Noir, a stylistic decision enabling the complex aromatic and palate profile that this red-skinned grape contributes to Brut cuvées.
90 POINTS “A wonderfully drinkable sparkling wine that appeals immediately for its balanced texture and rich flavors.” – Wine Enthusiast
Any time is the right time for great bubbly – Get a bottle of this wine at Jacob Liquor today!