When asked why he makes his super-premium Tuscan-style wines, Chris Gemignani offers a total explanation in two words, "Sono Italiano!" (“I'm Italian!”) The Gemignani Family history is rich with winemaking, dating back to 18 th century Tuscany. At the turn of the 20 th century they brought their love of life and wine to San Francisco and, like many first generation Italians, weren't particularly bothered by Prohibition. Chris' grandfather was a builder in “The City” and one of his properties was a villa surrounding a garden of Bocci Ball Courts. Beneath the courts hid a forbidden wine cellar. Every Sunday the cellar hatch opened and Chris' mother would serve up the juice for five cents a glass while his grandmother rounded up all the local paesans. These were the real “days of heaven!”

Much of the Gemignani family still lives in Tuscany where winemaking is a way of life. During his college years, Chris would visit “la familia” in Torre del Lago Puccini on the Tuscan Coast, often staying through the grape harvest. With a casetta centered in the family vineyards, Chris received a first-hand education on Italian-style wine growing. He brought back his knowledge to the states and has been making award-winning wines since 1990.

Chris continues to draw on his heritage by producing what he calls, “California Super-Tuscans”. These rich and complex offerings are made with Bordeaux varietals blended with the great Italians such as Sangiovese, Barbera, Charbono, Nebbiolo and Dolcetto. The result is something “molto Italiano”

Chris believes that extraordinary richness and mouth-feel begins in the vineyard. To that end, he works closely with growers that will custom-farm their vineyard blocks. “Deficit water status after verasion and careful canopy management makes a world of difference to wine quality”, he explains. Berry sorting is another obsession. “Every little berry has an impact” and, to that end, Chris and his wife, Lara, have been known to stay up into the wee hours preening through tons of grapes before the crush.

At Generosa Winery, richness and mouth-feel are also enhanced in the cellar with such techniques as Saignee where some juice is taken away from the new must thus deepening the wine's phenolic concentration. Some lots go through a triple Delestage , a process of draining the fermentation tank of its juice, allowing the must to crush under its own weight and then refilling the tank back with the now micro-oxygenated wine. “This is how grape polysaccharides are liberated early on in the fermentation process, assuring higher levels of long, smooth tannins in the colloidal network”, explains Chris.

Chris ages the wine in French Oak barrels for 18 to 24 months and further bottle-ages before releasing. The end result is a generous and rich nettare di vino (nectar of wine)

The Gemignanis believe that food and wine are an inspiration to each other. As a result, many of their private tastings include delicious food pairings to be enjoyed in a setting with spectacular views of the Santa Cruz Mountains . The winery is named after Chris's late grandmother, Generosa. It is a fitting name for the wine and the people who make it: Generosa means generous in Italian.

From the book by Casey Young and Ken Dawes: "Mountain Vines, Mountain Wines.” “Exploring the wineries of the Santa Cruz Mountains"