The Muscat Canelli found at Ricci vineyard was originally introduced through a pure appreciation for the varietal. The first cuttings of Muscat were brought over from the Moon Mountain AVA in Sonoma and grafted onto existing rootstock to replace Semillon vines already growing in the vineyard.
There are exactly 41 vines of Dry Muscat on the Ricci property. When Dale ripped out his first experimental vineyard to make room for more St. Laurent, he left the one row of Muscat for the kids (and raccoons) to eat. That is how they were left for a number of years until 2019 when they threw some nets over it and decided to make wine. They get about 22 cases.
On the label is a photo of an old Stornetta Dairy truck that Dale got in 1988. It was an old retired truck but the refrigeration worked so he used it to store his budwood. The back of the the truck was the original Ricci nursery. The Stornetta’s helped Dale’s grandfather out when he had Influenza and was too sick to work, the brothers came over and milked the cows for him. The truck is a particularly meaningful time capsule since the historic Stornetta Dairy burned in the 2017 fires.