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Scattered Peaks was founded by Derek Benham whose family goes back four generations of wine making. Members of the family went off on their own way and founded hugely successful wineries such as Blackstone, which at one point was one of the largest wine brands in the US.
His winemaker is Joe Tapparo who literally grew up in the vineyard. His grandfather was one of the first to plant Pinot Noir in Sonoma and his godfather planted one of the first Pinot Noir Vineyards in the Russian River. Joe's accolades are numerous. His first job came in 2008 with the Purple Wine Company, also owned by a member of the Benham Family. He worked his way up to assistant winemaker and finally winemaker earning a Best of Class award at the Sonoma Harvest Fair.
Up to that point, Tapparo's experience had been in the cool region of Sonoma. Coming to the warmer climate of Napa was a challenge, but not one he couldn't overcome. He had studied at UC Davis, considered the best program for enology in the US, and had worked projects in Napa, so it wasn't a stretch that he could do the job at Scattered Peaks. What Joe had not studied were wildfires, which was the scourge of the 2020 harvest. Many wines inhaled smoke and were unusable. Joe picked just as the fires were gaining momentum and saved the winery from disaster. The result is a stunning offering with loads of clean citrus, melon, and peach flavors sure to knock out shrimp scampi or crab claws in drawn butter.
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