Papapietro Perry Winery: Handcrafted, Single-Vineyard Designate Pinot Noir

Renae Perry is the co-founder and co-owner of Papapietro Perry Winery, where her sharp business sense, love of hospitality, and spirited personality have helped shape the winery’s welcoming culture and enduring success. A New York native with a bold presence, Renae brings both heart and humor to the winery, championing its commitment to handcrafted Pinot Noir and creating a family-like atmosphere for wine lovers around the world. Papapietro Perry Winery features in an exclusive interview with DeliveryRank.

Can you share the journey of Papapietro Perry Winery from its inception in a garage to becoming a renowned producer of single-vineyard designate wines? What were some pivotal moments in this evolution?

We started in our garages in San Francisco as hobbyists. My husband, Bruce Perry, and I, along with our good friends, were passionate about wine. Both my husband and Ben Papapietro worked at the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner, and so did Bert Williams from Williams Selyem. Back when Pinot Noir was just gaining recognition in the Russian River Valley, Bert was on the forefront of it all, and he was a good friend of Bruce and Bens. They would go up to wine country to help him during harvest, working in his Quonset Hut—his first winery setup. I remember seeing an invitation to the White House on the wall of that hut, showing how far Bert had come.

They learned a lot about making Pinot Noir from Bert and started experimenting with it themselves. Initially, we made anything we could get our hands on—Cabernet Franc, Mourvèdre, and anything else we could find. There was a time we drove up to wine country and handpicked grapes ourselves, turning them into wine. Over time, we met more people in the industry, and Bert was generous enough to sell us one ton of Pinot Noir grapes. This was a rare opportunity, as Pinot Noir wasn’t widely grown at that time. We made wine from that, and slowly started perfecting our Pinot Noir.

We were making wine in our garages—Ben had Pinot Noir in his garage, and we had Zinfandel in ours. The process became more involved as we learned. I remember waking up in the middle of the night to punch down the fermenting grapes. We had friends and family helping during harvest and bottling. We even hand-bottled and corked every bottle ourselves. One time, Bert Williams came by to visit and leaned on one of our barrels, saying, "This is good Pinot Noir." That moment stayed with us.

At that point, Bruce said to me, “I think we should become a winery.” He had retired early from the newspaper due to some health issues, and after much convincing, I agreed. At the time, I wasn’t even a wine drinker, but Bruce was so determined that I just went along with it. He convinced me that we could become a winery with just a $2,000 license. Little did I know that wasn’t nearly enough. We ended up mortgaging our homes and borrowing money from family to really get started. We began with just five barrels of wine. Bruce also convinced Ben, even though Ben was hesitant at first. He had worked at another winery and knew how much work went into it. But Bruce was determined. He told Ben, “Join us and if you don’t want to then I will have to reluctantly find someone else.”

Bruce eventually found a place to make the wine in Sonoma. We had been coming here for years since Bruce’s parents lived here. He spent time talking to people in the area and eventually secured a spot at what was then the Windsor Oaks winery in Windsor. The space wasn’t being used as a winery at the time, but we rented it and started making wine there with our five barrels in a giant warehouse filled with tanks. It felt so small compared to everything else around us, but we made it work.

From there, we were able to move to Timbercrest Farms, where we are now. This was a fruit farm that grew dried fruits and vegetables, and when they decided to switch to wineries, we got a chance to take over one of the buildings. One of the vineyards we purchase from, Randy Peters owner of Peters Vineyard, grew up across the street from Timbercrest Farms. He knew the owners were transitioning to wineries and suggested we check it out. We got the chance to pick the best spot for a tasting room, which now overlooks the beautiful Dry Creek Valley.

From those five barrels and 75 cases of wine, we’ve grown to producing 8,000 cases. Looking back, we’re grateful that we didn’t know exactly what we were getting into. It’s been an incredible journey, and we’ve learned so much along the way.

The winery emphasizes sourcing grapes from exceptional vineyards like Peters Vineyard and Leras Family Vineyards. How do these specific vineyard sites influence the characteristics and quality of your wines?

The Leras Vineyard has been in the Leras family since the days of their original homestead, which dates back to the late 1800s, I believe. They've been in the grape-growing business for generations and have truly perfected their craft. The quality of the grapes is outstanding, and over time, we developed a wonderful working relationship. What’s made that relationship so valuable is that they trust our winemakers’ vision. They’ll wait until we’re ready to pick, allowing the grapes to ripen exactly as we need. That kind of partnership—based on mutual respect and understanding—is rare. It was all done on a handshake.

As for the Peters Vineyard—that’s another story of serendipity and connection. Bruce came up to Sonoma and met Randy Peters at just the right time. Back then, Randy was selling all of his fruit to a large winery, but his contracts were coming to an end. Bruce recognized the quality of his grapes and especially his Pinot Noir, which we desperately needed. Randy wasn’t quite sure how much fruit he could spare, as harvests can fluctuate from year to year, but he said something like, “I might be able to give you a few tons—our regular buyer won’t even notice.”

So Bruce, in true Bruce fashion, said, “I’ll bring cash.” And he did—literally handed Randy a wad of bills. They shook hands, and that was the beginning of a partnership that has lasted over 27 years. We’ve never signed a contract with either the Leras or Peters families—just a handshake and shared values.

The Peters Vineyard itself used to be an apple orchard. When Randy took it over, his father-in-law—Tom Mukaida, a Japanese American man who had actually been held in an internment camp during World War II—had worked the land for decades and eventually became the owner. The place has a deep, layered history. That land still carries the essence of those apples. You can actually taste it in the Chardonnay—it has this subtle, almost nostalgic apple character that comes through from the soil and legacy of that orchard.

It’s also an ideal climate for Pinot Noir. The vineyard sits close to the coast, so every evening the cool coastal fog rolls in, blanketing the vines and locking in acidity overnight. Both the Leras and Peters vineyards have that same gift of climate—absolutely perfect for growing Pinot Noir.

Our wines from Peters Vineyard have done incredibly well. In fact, we won the Pigs & Pinot competition at Hotel Healdsburg twice and came in second once—all with wine from Peters Vineyard. No other winery, to my knowledge, has ever won that competition twice. It’s a blind tasting with 60 to 70 wineries from around the world, so it’s quite an accomplishment. We’ve been incredibly lucky—but also deeply grateful for these long-standing relationships with growers who share our passion for excellence.

With a focus on small-lot production, how does the winemaking team balance maintaining traditional techniques with integrating modern innovations to craft your Pinot Noir and other varietals?

We don’t really do things the modern way—we still make wine the same way we did back in 1985. Everything is hand-processed. That’s a big part of who we are, and one of the reasons we've stayed intentionally small. You get too big, and you just can’t do it this way anymore. We’ve found our limit, and we’re happy with it—because staying small means we can stay true to the process.

All of our fruit is hand-sorted. We’ve got a team sitting at the conveyor belt, going through the grapes one cluster at a time. We do hand punch-downs three times a day, every day during fermentation. It’s physical work—no automated pump-overs, no mechanical shortcuts. Just people and tools, doing it the old-school way. We even bring in help during harvest just for the punch-downs.

We use small, one-ton open-top fermenters and fill every inch of the winery with bins during crush. It’s a very hands-on, very manual process—but it’s what makes our wines what they are. And it’s paid off: year after year, we’ve maintained incredible consistency. Our wines regularly score in the high 90s, and we’re proud of that.

Honestly, we believe that staying small is the secret. Once you scale up, you have to change your methods—and we’re just not interested in that. For us, it’s always been about making beautiful wine the right way, not the fast way.

Papapietro Perry offers various experiences, including on-site tastings and virtual events. How have these initiatives enhanced customer engagement, especially considering recent shifts in consumer preferences?

COVID changed a lot of things—for everyone, in every way. But one of the silver linings for us was how quickly we leaned into virtual events to stay connected with our community. In fact, I’d say we were one of the early leaders in that space. We didn’t just do virtual tastings—we went all in with trivia nights, magic shows, wine and cheese pairings, chocolate pairings… you name it.

What we realized is that our wine club members and fans live all over the country—not just here near the winery. And not everyone can just drop in for a tasting. So giving people a way to stay connected from wherever they are has really deepened that sense of belonging. We’ve kept those events going, and people still show up—from across the country—to participate. It’s helped keep our community engaged and feel like they’re truly part of the family.

Just this past Friday, we hosted a trivia night at the winery—we had 65 or 70 people laughing, sipping, and competing. It was a blast. People want more than just a glass of wine—they want a fun, meaningful experience. And that’s what we try to offer. Whether it’s a caviar tasting or a virtual chocolate pairing, we’re always looking for new ways to surprise and delight the people who support us.

The wine club provides members with exclusive benefits and access to limited-production wines. How does this membership program contribute to building a community around Papapietro Perry Winery, and what role does it play in the winery's overall strategy?

Wine clubs are really the backbone of our business. Twice a year, we run shipments and charge our members’ credit cards, and that alone brings in about 60–70% of our total revenue. It’s guaranteed income—predictable and reliable—which is incredibly valuable in this industry. We already have their information, we send a heads-up about what’s coming, and it just happens smoothly.

Over time, we’ve expanded beyond just our core club. While the main club features our Pinot Noir, we also produce Chardonnay, Rosé, and magnums—so we created additional clubs around those wines. That helps us bring in revenue year-round, not just during the two main shipment periods.

What’s even more valuable than the revenue is the community. Wine club members become your biggest ambassadors. They love the wine, they tell their friends, they bring guests to the winery—and more often than not, those guests end up joining the club too. It creates this beautiful word-of-mouth effect that just keeps growing.

We put a lot of effort into making our club members feel like part of the family, because they are. That connection is key to building long-term relationships, and it shows in the loyalty and support we get back.

If you're running a winery and not offering a wine club, it’s something worth considering. Invite people to join when they visit, offer two shipments a year, include a member discount, and give them a reason to stay engaged. It’s one of the best strategies out there for sustainable success.

If you would like to find out more about Papapietro Perry Winery, please visit https://www.papapietro-perry.com/