GREG LINN’S PASSION; NONNO ZITO WINERY
Interview with Greg Linn
Q: Your Nonno Zito wine label is
a silhouette of two men sitting on a
bench, each holding a glass of wine.
Tell me about the two men and why you
choose to put that particular picture on
your wine bottles.
Greg: The two men are my
grandfather and me. My grandfather died
before I was born so I never got the
chance to know him. It is a Dreamscape;
my vision of how I would spend the day
with my grandfather. My grandfather is
seated to the left of me. It’s a
peaceful moment, in an out-of-the-way
place, free from noise and people where
we could enjoy a glass of wine and I
could ask him questions about his life
and passions.
Q: Describe Nonno Zito wines.
Greg: They’re a reflection of my
great love of Italian wines. I’ve
created California wines with Italian
varietals.
Q: How did you get into the wine
business?
Greg: (Laughs) I drank too much
so I needed to subsidize my wine
drinking habit. It’s an extension of my
love and passion for wine and was an
obvious progression for me.
Q: Isn’t there a joke that goes:
How do you make a small fortune? Start
with a large one and buy a winery.
Greg: (Laughs). That’s right.
Q: What are your future plans for
Nonno Zito?
Greg: I may add more varietals
in the future. The winery is a small
producing, boutique winery, like
Ambullneo. The wine is hand crafted
using the highest quality grapes and
state of the art equipment. We spared
no expense.
Q: Cork vs. screw cap; any
opinions?
Greg: No way would any of my
wineries, both Ambullneo and Nonno Zito,
ever use screw caps. The opinion that
screw caps provide a better closure is
just that, an opinion. No one knows if
the wine will last and there is no age
worthy wines today bottled with screw
caps to prove or disapprove that screw
caps work or that screw caps prevent TCA
(cork taint). The day they ruin the
romance of pulling a cork is the day I
stop drinking wine. Maybe if you make a
wine that should be consumed the first
year you can use a screw cap, but age
worthy wines? NO.
Q: What impressions do you want
to evoke in people when they drink your
wine?
Greg: That it is worth the price
they paid. My wine enhanced their
evening’s enjoyment and they would
gladly purchase another bottle.
Q: What qualities make your wine
special and stand out?
Greg: Our wines are made from the
highest quality grapes grown in the
finest vineyards in the state, the
country, probably the world. We spared
no expense to make an exceptional
quality wine. We use the newest, most
reliable pressing and bottling equipment
and highest quality fermentation tanks
money can buy. We have an acreage
contract with local farmers based on
tonnage and cropped to the level we
specify. I’ll give you an example; last
year most wineries yield was eight to
nine tons of grapes per acre. Our yield
was three. We dropped more fruit on the
ground because we only keep the highest
quality grapes.
Q: You love to cook Italian
dishes so describe the perfect meal to
compliment your favorite Nonno Zito
wine.
Greg: I’m a pasta lover. Any
great pasta dish; maybe something with
chicken or veal goes well with Nonno
Zito.
Q: If Nonno Zitto was a car,
what type would it be?
Greg: Ferrari
Greg: One question you didn’t ask
me about was how I came up with the
names on the wine bottles. Most
wineries list the varietals on the front
label but I wanted the wine to reflect
my passion for my Italian heritage.
My
grandfather and grandmother had seven
children: one boy and six girls. When
they immigrated to this country the
school master told my grandparents they
needed to change their children’s
Sicilian first names to American ones to
avoid prejudicial problems directed at
immigrants, especially in the schools.
To honor my mother and her three
surviving siblings, I listed their
Sicilian names they were born with
followed by their chosen American names.
My mother hasn’t called herself by her
birth name, Giovanna since she was five
years old.
Thanks Greg for taking time from your
hectic schedule to answer my questions.
Good luck with Nonno Zito winery. May
your wine glass always be full.
Interview by: Sheila Harcourt-Gallagher
freelance writer
