Trade & Media

Dick Ponzi began his career far from the vineyard, working as a mechanical engineer in California, where he designed rides for Disneyland in the 1960s. But a growing fascination with cool climate winemaking, and a conviction that the right place could rival the great wine regions of the world, led him to look north. After researching climates and soils across the United States, he set his sights on Oregon's Willamette Valley, a region with no established wine industry and few who believed it could support one.

In 1969, Dick moved his family from California to Oregon, and in 1970 planted Ponzi Vineyards, becoming the third winery in the state and one of a small handful of founders who would define Oregon wine for generations. With no local infrastructure to rely on, he taught himself viticulture, fabricated his own equipment, and learned by doing. His belief in Oregon's potential for world-class Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay shaped not only Ponzi Vineyards but the trajectory of the entire region.

Alongside his wife Nancy, Dick raised three children in the vineyard and built a winery committed to quality, place, and the long view. In 1981, he introduced the first commercial Pinot Gris in the United States. In 1983, his Pinot Noir Reserve changed Robert Parker's perception of Oregon wine. He also co-founded BridgePort Brewing, one of Oregon's first craft breweries, helping seed another industry the state would come to be known for.

A pioneer, engineer, and tireless advocate for Oregon wine, Dick Ponzi's legacy is measured not only in awards and acreage but in the generations of winemakers, including his own daughter Luisa, who came up in the world he helped build.