2022 Petit Pompadour

The Wine… and The Story

Once upon a time, nestled in the east hills above Ashland, was a little vineyard name Pompadour. The vineyard, planted in the mid 1980s to only Bordeaux varieties (Cab Sauvignon, Cab Franc, Merlot and Malbec), was owned and operated by a little old couple who tended each and every vine with extreme care.  Their names were Arnold and Mary Kohnert. The Kohnerts met my father John not long after he had opened Weisinger Winery in 1989. Two years later in 1991 my father persuaded Arnold to sell him fruit from his vineyard. Arnold obliged. My father made and blended the wine from Arnold and Mary’s Pompadour Vineyard, creating the first Bordeaux style blend under the Weisinger label.  In fact, it was one of the first in the state at that time. The name they settled on for this new and pioneering blend for the region was Petit Pompadour, which seemed fitting since Pompadour Vineyard was only a petit 4.5 acres in size.

Since that first blend in 1991 there have been 19 more Petit Pompadour blends, making the 2016 vintage the 20th Pompadour to be created.  The only “recipe” for the Petit Pompadour has been to use the best Bordeaux wines in our cellar.  Each one of the blends have been unique. Today, it is still considered our flagship red.

Unfortunately, Arnold and Mary Kohnert are no longer with us and the Pompadour Vineyard of old is mostly a memory.  However, the intent that created the first blend 28 years ago still exists and every time I have the good fortune to choose from our very best lots of wine to create it I am reminded of Arnold and Mary and the love they had for their vines.  In a very personal sense, this wine will always be my way of honoring them.  

- Eric Weisinger, Winemaker