The family brand’s winemaker riffs on the joys, memories and pressures of being Pisoni.

Jeff Pisoni’s path in life was set in motion the moment he began stomping grapes as a freshly potty-trained toddler. After majoring in enology at CSU Fresno, the Palma High alum worked for several wineries before easing into the family business. The day Jeff became winemaker at Pisoni Vineyards & Winery in the Santa Lucia Highlands – the mini empire is responsible for producing some of the most coveted Pinot Noir fruit and some of the highest rated estate Pinots in California – couldn’t come soon enough, as far as his dad was concerned. Jeff’s brother Mark is the vineyard manager; papa Gary Pisoni wanted his other boy in the business too.

“Do you really want to go to school?” Gary would ask Jeff every time he was home from college.

“He ultimately realized I needed to go to school, but there were times when he debated it,” Jeff says.

The Weekly caught up with the 34-year-old prodigy on his way to Santa Barbara for World of Pinot Noir, the biggest Pinot Noir-only event on the planet.

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What’s your earliest wine memory?

Me and Mark stomping grapes in tanks. It was reinforced as a memory because it ended up as a Christmas card. We were 3 years old, standing in our underwear in a tank. I think our dad [Gary] was anxious to get the kids growing grapes. Now, my brother does the farming, I do the winemaking and [Gary] looks over everything; we’re a family but we’re also a team.

What’s your earliest winemaking memory when you were aware of what was going on?

All through grammar and high school we’d help out, bottling and working the barrels. [Gary] was always a home winemaker so we’d always be around it. Before the production experience I remember hanging out in his wine cellar all the time, admiring dusty bottles of old vintages of California and French wines he was collecting. He got into growing grapes from the collector’s side, then started making wine, so when he was growing grapes he was growing for quality not mass production.

How do you make the process of growing in the Salinas Valley and bottling in Santa Rosa work?

We take a lot of measures to make sure when we do the transporting of the fruit it’s in as good condition as it was when it was harvested. Mark oversees all the viticulture, so he does the harvesting at night, we pick in small totes, we put the grapes in refrigerated trucks and stop picking at about 6am so it stays cold on the way [to Santa Rosa]. Any juice that comes out of the berries during transportation we don’t save. Not all regions have this much access to refrigerated transportation but it’s the salad bowl of the world and Mark has these relationships with truck drivers and can call them on short notice.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a winemaker?

I’m really into making pizza. It’s like crafting something. My wife and I built our own pizza oven brick by brick. We have our native sourdough starter that we use for dough and limited ingredients; it’s really natural and simple as a concept but it’s tough to refine so we keep working on recipes. I was always into chemistry too. The chemistry drew me to wine.

What separates a really good Pinot from an amazing pinot?

Being able to identify the sense of place. Also, being able to farm tough vintages, which really isn’t talked about. Our 2011 vintage was really tough because it rained toward the harvest but shows the dedication of a grower. It’s tough to be able to produce a great wine on a consistent basis.

Do you ever feel the pressure of being born a Pisoni?

Yes, indeed. There’s pressure because there’s such an amazing foundation, standard, reputation and relationships with other wineries. After doing it for so long we also put pressure on ourselves. We’re trying to continue to improve this stuff.

What’s the best advice you received from your father?

He gave me a winemaking book when I was in high school and he wrote an inscription: “The best winemakers are those who are best prepared and interfere the least.” You never want to mess with the wine; you hope you can escort it along.

What’s the worst advice he’s given?

Driving lessons in the Jeep. That was rough. Anyone who takes that wild ride with him can relate.