Lago di Merlo Vineyards and Winery

Lago di Merlo Tasting Room:

(inside Family Wineries Dry Creek Valley)

Mission:

To make quality wines, you must first start with quality grapes. Here are a few reasons why we feel we are unique in that arena: 

About:

At Lago di Merlo Vineyards & Winery, each of our wines has its own distinct means of expressing the terroir (soil, topography and microclimate) from which it was born. The style of our wine derives from this marriage of ground and climate producing bold and gallant red wines from Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Appellation hillsides. Our commitment to the natural composition of our wines is evident in its character and bouquet while its structure and complexity are delicately enhanced with traditional methods of blending. The art and philosophy of Lago di Merlo is unmistakable in the unique expressions of our Dry Creek Valley reds. The Sonoma region is similar to parts of Northern Italy in soil structure and climate, providing ideal growing conditions. Our family is dedicated to crafting superior wines with qualities and characteristics unique to our region; excellent wine is grown, not made.

History:

Harry Merlo Sr. began at the age of five crushing grapes with his feet below the railroad tracks in the Italian section of Stirling City, California. His Father, Giuseppe Merlo, an Italian immigrant, was considered the wine steward of the High Sierra lumber town. He would set a washtub on the woodshed floor and dump into it a 50-pound lug of zinfandel grapes and young Harry would begin to stomp. Thus began his association with the wine industry. Harry has often said that he qualifies as a connoisseur of wine because he has purple feet.

The tradition continued with the acquisition of Harry’s vineyard near Geyserville, California in 1965. In the mid 1960’s he delivered his first truckload of grapes to Italian Swiss Colony Winery. They weighed his truck and gave him a receipt priced at $50 per ton.

Family interest in winemaking led his son, Harry Jr., to study viticulture and enology at California State University, Fresno. Following graduation, Harry Jr. ultimately became Manager of Lago di Merlo Vineyards & Winery at the Merlo Ranch in Sonoma County.