Red, Red Wine…Talking Zinfandel and Cabernet with Ravenswood’s Joel Peterson and Roy Estate’s Shirley Roy

Please tune in on Thursday, December 2nd when I will be joined first by Joel Peterson, who embarked on his winemaking apprenticeship at the age of ten when he began tasting with the San Francisco Wine Sampling Club, organized by his father. After graduating from Oregon State University, he became a wine writer & consultant. In the mid-1970’s he learned the art of traditional winemaking from one of California’s outstanding craftsmen of fine Zinfandel. He has been the Winemaker of Ravenswood Winery since 1976. We will then be joined by Shirley Roy, who with her late husband Charles, launched Roy Estates in Napa Valley in 1999, and celebrated their first vintage in 2004. The 17 acre vineyard produces wines that are all estate grown, specifically a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Proprietary Red Wine. The annual FOOD & WINE book, “wine guide 2010” highlights ROY Estate’s 2006 Proprietary Red blend, and it was among just four Napa Bordeaux style wines to receive the highest rating of 4 stars.

Bios:
Joel Peterson:
Joel Peterson has been the Winemaker of Ravenswood Winery since 1976 and has shepherded Ravenswood from a small unknown one man winery producing 327 cases of Zinfandel, to the number one producer of Zinfandel. He owns the historic 119 acre Bedrock Vineyard in Sonoma Valley that produces grapes for Ravenswood. In addition, he works with 100+ growers that provide grapes for Ravenswood annually, consulting on irrigation/cultivation practices, cropping levels and sustainable vineyard practices. He has presented innumerable seminars, lectures and tasting over the years at venues such as the Boston Wine Expo, Culinary Institute of America (NY and CA) and the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.
Joel is a current member and former president of the Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Alliance, a founding member and former two-time President of Zinfandel Advocates and Producers as well as a Senior Vice President and member of the Senior Executive team of Constellation Wines US.

Shirley Roy:
Shirley Roy and her late husband Charles were both born and raised on the East Coast. Charles, originally from Massachusetts, was a civil engineer and an architect. Shirley was born on Long Island and grew up in New Jersey. She is an accountant and a student of fine food and wine.
Together, they owned and operated executive suite businesses in New Jersey and Norfolk, Virginia. During the 1980′s and 90′s they made many business trips to San Francisco and Northern California. They fell in love with Napa Valley.
In 1999, with the purchase of pro golfer Johnny Miller’s estate, they began new lives as vintners.