{"id":2461,"date":"2025-02-05T02:54:13","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T02:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2461"},"modified":"2025-02-07T00:12:31","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T00:12:31","slug":"winemaker-interview-series-limerick-lane-chris-pittenger-january-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2461","title":{"rendered":"Winemaker Interview Series \u2013 Limerick Lane &#8211; Chris Pittenger &#8211; January 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Chris-Pittenger-Limerick-Lane-Home.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2462\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Chris-Pittenger-Limerick-Lane-Home-254x300.gif\" alt=\"Chris Pittenger from Limerick Lane\" width=\"254\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>On Wednesday, January 8, 2025, we had a chance to interview and get to know <a href=\"https:\/\/www.limericklanewines.com\/about-us\/our-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Chris Pittenger<\/strong><\/a>. Chris is the winemaker for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.limericklanewines.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Limerick Lane Cellars<\/strong><\/a>. We covered eight of his new 2022 vintage wines; all were Zinfandel offerings. We have enjoyed Chris&#8217; wines for a long time. This was our first chance to interview him. Our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2017\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>previous Limerick Lane interview<\/strong><\/a> was in January 2023 when we interviewed the former owner, Jake Bilbro. So, this was a good time to catch up with what is going on at the winery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Before we get to the wine reviews, I thought I would share a few new tidbits we learned during the tasting with Chris.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Chris&#8217; passion for winemaking was born during his college years at Cal Poly \u2013 San Luis Obispo where a viticulture course set him on his path.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">He then worked at Wally&#8217;s wine shop in Los Angeles where he was exposed to the best wines of the World and gravitated towards Burgundy, the Rhone, and Piedmont.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">From there he moved to Jackson Hole to refine his palate (and snowboarding skills) in The Tetons while working as a sommelier in the wine-centric Restaurant Terroir. While there he befriended Matt Courtney the current winemaker at Arista Winery.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">After that, Chris worked at several notable wineries. Robert Biale in Napa, Torbreck (Australia), Williams-Selyem (Healdsburg), and finally, four harvests at West Sonoma Coast winery Marcassin (under Helen Turley).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Chris and his wife Sarah started a winery in 2009 called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grosventrecellars.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>Gros Ventre Cellars<\/u><\/strong><\/a>. They are on their 16<sup>th<\/sup> harvest. They mainly produce vineyard-designated Pinot Noir from the West Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley. They also make a little bit of Gamay.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Just prior to Limerick Lane, Chris then spent 11 years as winemaker at Rhone focused Skinner Vineyards in El Dorado making some extraordinary Mourv\u00e9dre and Grenache.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Chris started at Limerick Lane in 2018.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Karen Francis DeGolia<\/strong> is now the owner of Limerick Lane. How that came to be is outlined in her bio on the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.limericklanewines.com\/about-us\/our-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Limerick Lane Team page.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Chris makes a very polished and seamless Zinfandel by using Pinot Noir techniques and neutral French oak.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The 2022 vintage was like 3 harvests. The Old Vine vineyards came in before Labor Day. The second pick was before the heat wave and Chris liked that fruit. Late picked grapes either went into the Russian River wine or were bulked out if they didn\u2019t make the cut.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2023 was a super late vintage for most producers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/historicvineyardsociety.org\/vineyard\/maffei-vineyard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>Maffei Vineyard<\/u><\/strong><\/a> was very impressive in 2022. This vineyard is one of the many historic vineyard sites used by Chris.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/historicvineyardsociety.org\/vineyard\/martinelli-road\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>Banfield Vineyard<\/u><\/strong><\/a> is a historical site. It is also known as Martinelli Road<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/historicvineyardsociety.org\/vineyard\/monte-rosso\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>Monte Rosso Vineyard<\/u><\/strong><\/a> is another historic vineyard site. Limerick pulls their grapes from the highest block in the vineyard. This vineyard is always the first one to come in.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">&#8220;<strong>Rocky Knoll<\/strong>&#8221; and &#8220;<strong>1910 Block<\/strong>&#8221; are <strong>Estate Wines<\/strong> that come from the historical<strong><u><a href=\"https:\/\/historicvineyardsociety.org\/vineyard\/limerick-lane-vineyard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Limerick Lane vineyard<\/a>.<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The &#8220;<strong>Ricci Block<\/strong>&#8221; comes from the Ricci Vineyard which is next to Limerick Lane Vineyard and was owned by Karen Francis DeGolia before she bought Limerick Lane.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The &#8220;<strong>Marquis<\/strong>&#8221; Zinfandel is blend of all the vineyards. Chris&#8217; goal is make the best old vine expression each vintage.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Below is a summary of the wine offerings from Limerick Lane that we covered. The links below are to our full reviews. If you are interested in ordering and trying these wines, you will find some of these wines via your favorite fine wine shop or on top quality wines lists. You can also purchase these wines on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.limericklanewines.com\/wines\/current-releases\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Limerick Lane website<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Limerick-Lane-Logo.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2023\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Limerick-Lane-Logo.gif\" alt=\"Limerick Lane Logo\" width=\"300\" height=\"116\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">1) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Limerick-Lane-2022-Russian-River-Zinfandel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Limerick Lane 2022 Zinfandel &#8220;Russian River&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> $46 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 92<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">2) <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Limerick-Lane-2022-Maffei-Vineyard-Zinfandel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Limerick Lane 2022 Zinfandel &#8220;Maffei Vineyard&#8221;<\/a><\/strong> (RRV) $64 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 95.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">3) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Limerick-Lane-2022-Banfield-Vineyard-Zinfandel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Limerick Lane 2022 Zinfandel &#8220;Banfield Vineyard&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (RRV) $64 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 94.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">4) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Limerick-Lane-2022-Monte-Rosso-Zinfandel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Limerick Lane 2022 Zinfandel &#8220;Monte Rosso Vineyard&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Moon Mtn) $72 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 93.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">5) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Limerick-Lane-2022-Ricci-Block-Zinfandel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Limerick Lane 2022 Zinfandel &#8220;Ricci Block&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (RRV) $68 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 93<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">6) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Limerick-Lane-2022-Marquis-Zinfandel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Limerick Lane 2022 Zinfandel &#8220;Marquis&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Sonoma County) $72 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 94<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">7) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Limerick-Lane-2022-Rocky-Knoll-Zinfandel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Limerick Lane 2022 Zinfandel &#8220;Rocky Knoll&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (RRV) $65 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 95<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">8) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Limerick-Lane-2022-1910-Block-Zinfandel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Limerick Lane 2022 Zinfandel &#8220;1910 Block&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (RRV) $68 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 95.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>Additional Wine Covered After Our Tasting With Chris<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">9) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Limerick-Lane-2022-Syrah\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Limerick Lane 2022 Syrah<\/strong><\/a> (RRV) $46 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 93.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">10) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Limerick-Lane-2022-Rocks-and-Fog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Limerick Lane 2022 Red Blend &#8220;Rocks &amp; Fog&#8221;<\/strong> <\/a>(Sonoma County) $56 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 92<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">11) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Limerick-Lane-2023-Failte\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Limerick Lane 2023 White Blend &#8220;Failte&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (RRV) (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 91<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You can find reviews of past and future Limerick Lane wines that we cover on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine.php?winery=1522\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>Limerick Lane KWG winery page<\/u><\/strong><\/a> on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! \u2014 Ken<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Wednesday, January 8, 2025, we had a chance to interview and get to know Chris Pittenger. Chris is the winemaker for Limerick Lane Cellars. We covered eight of his new 2022 vintage wines; all were Zinfandel offerings. We have enjoyed Chris&#8217; wines for a long time. This was our first chance to interview him. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2770,1811,1541,91,1812,11,1813,2771,2772,1814,1201,1187,102,43,31,2001,90,126,8,6,240,1292,39],"tags":[1806,2781,1803,1798,2779,2773,1509,2082,2782,2778,1789,1792,1790,1791,2774,1802,1810,2780,2775,1808,1809,1508,1165,2776,1799,1805,2777,1807,1469,309,704,633,1800,1272,2102,1801,523],"class_list":["post-2461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-banfield-vineyard","category-chris-pittenger","category-grenache","category-grenache-blanc","category-jake-bilbro","category-kens-wine-guide-tasting-panel","category-limerick-lane","category-maffei-vineyard","category-monte-rosso-vineyard","category-moon-mountain","category-red-blend","category-red-wine","category-russian-river-valley","category-syrah","category-viognier","category-white-blend","category-white-wine","category-wine-ratings","category-wine-recommendations","category-wine-reviews","category-wine-tasting","category-winemaker","category-zinfandel","tag-1910-block","tag-arista-winery","tag-banfield-vineyard","tag-chris-pittenger","tag-el-dorado","tag-failte","tag-grenache","tag-grenache-blanc","tag-gros-ventre-cellars","tag-helen-turley","tag-jake-bilbro","tag-limerick-lane","tag-limerick-lane-cellars","tag-limerick-lane-vineyards","tag-maffei-vineyard","tag-marcassin","tag-marquis","tag-matt-courtney","tag-monte-rosso","tag-monte-rosso-vineyard","tag-moon-mountain","tag-mourvedre","tag-red-blend","tag-ricci-block","tag-robert-biale","tag-rocks-fog","tag-rocks-and-fog","tag-rocky-knoll","tag-russian-river-valley","tag-skinner-vineyards","tag-sonoma-county","tag-syrah","tag-torbreck","tag-viognier","tag-white-blend","tag-williams-selyem","tag-zinfandel"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2461"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2466,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2461\/revisions\/2466"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}