Martinelli Winery & Vineyards

Martinelli Winery & Vineyards represents one of the most remarkable family farming legacies in California wine. Giuseppe and Luisa Martinelli emigrated from Friuli, Italy in the 1880s and planted the first vines — including a steep hillside plot so challenging that neighbors told them no grapes could grow there. They planted anyway. Those 'Jackass Hill' vines, now over 130 years old, produce some of the most concentrated and historically significant Zinfandel in California.

Six generations of the Martinelli family continue farming the same land. Lee Martinelli Sr. and his sons Lee Jr. and George farm over 470 planted acres across the Russian River Valley and Fort Ross-Seaview AVAs — selling the majority of their grapes to other prestigious wineries while keeping a small portion for their own highly regarded single-vineyard wines.

The tasting room sits inside a beautifully restored turn-of-the-century hop barn on River Road — the same agricultural infrastructure that once defined the Russian River Valley before wine. Native yeast fermentation, unfiltered and unfined wines, and a commitment to letting the vineyards speak without interference define every Martinelli bottle.

At its Windsor, Sonoma County location, Martinelli Winery & Vineyards presents a featured lineup that includes Jackass Hill Vineyard Zinfandel, Jackass Vineyard Zinfandel, Blue Slide Ridge Pinot Noir, and Vineyard Hill Chardonnay. Together, these bottles provide a focused introduction to the varieties, vineyard sources, and style that define the winery's current portfolio.