Pisoni Family Deemed
2021 Winemaking Family of the Year

sun setting over pisoni vineyards in the santa lucia highalnds

The Pisonis are delighted to announce their designation as the 2021 Winemaking Family of the Year by the Connoisseur’s Guide to California Wine, itself a premier voice for aficionados of California wine. Usually the organization honors a single winery. For its 2021 award, however, Connoisseur’s Guide “broke custom” and named a “Winemaking Family of the Year” rather than a “Winery of the Year.” This way, they did not have to choose between Pisoni Estate wines, Lucia, and Lucy, but could honor all three. Together, the Guide notes, Pisoni family labels account “for a long list of multiple-star-winning Pinot Noirs, Syrahs and Chardonnays.”

...each January, honor a single winery as the outstanding producer of the past year, but this time around we have chosen to break with custom and recognize the many achievements of the Pisoni family.
Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine, January 2022

It seems fitting that the Connoisseur’s Guide reinvented its honor for the Pisonis, since the family’s long legacy in California is matched only by its sustained penchant for innovation. When Gary began planting the hillsides of the Santa Lucia Highlands in Pinot Noir grapes, he became one of the first winemakers to put this beautiful landscape on the map as an extraordinary AVA. Gary’s sons continue his legacy of invention by refining their work with each new season: Mark on the land as the family’s vineyard manager, and Jeff as its equally forward-thinking vintner.

With this latest laurel, the family has earned a trifecta of substantial honors in just two years. Last year, they were also given the Steinbeck Center’s Valley of the World Award. And just the year before, they earned the 2020 Green Medal Award for sustainable leadership. These recognitions are warmly welcomed by the family as they continue the generational traditions of honoring the land they work on, recognizing their essential team members, and creating exceptional wines with meticulous attention and care.

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