From the Ashes: Signorello Winemaker Priyanka French Rises Again
Because great beginnings can come from tragic ends.
Thomas J. Story
Winemaker Priyanka French in the makeshift offices of Signorello
Napa can be a tough place to break into, even for billionaires. So consider the headwinds when you’re a twenty-something prodigy from Bombay like Priyanka French.
“People like me trying to break in, we never saw anyone who looked like us,” French says. “It’s something I’ve gotten comfortable with, even though no one should ever have to do that.”
Now in her second harvest as the winemaker at Signorello Wines in Napa, French brings a strong sense of purpose and a solid background in food science and chemistry to the third-generation house. Her task—to elevate Signorello to elite status—has been complicated doubly, thanks to the fires in 2017, which all but razed the property, and this year’s blazes, which have had her in constant communication with a lab in British Columbia.
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“We’re looking not only for smoke character now, but smoke that might be released in years to come,” notes the University of California, Davis-educated winemaker. “It’s a very innovative process. We’ll make wines from what we have even if they’re de-labeled just to learn to deal with these conditions.
That’s the kind of optimism you don’t often find among the veterans of the valley, who recall the “good old days” before traffic and fires and everything.
Adrian Gregorutti
To be sure, the blaze that took Signorello in 2017 was catastrophic—but it also represented a chance to rebuild what was an ad-hoc, family winery in the mold of the high-tech titans—as French says, “to be able to adjust the winemaking process to suit the harvest and wines, rather than the other way around.”
This means the company’s flagship cab, the Padrone bottling, will be available in greater volume than before, and that French’s focus on balancing the vines in the field to produce an age-friendly bottling with a “generosity of flavors” at a lower ABV will be allowed to shine.
French knew coming to Signorello would provide her all of the raw materials she’d need to help the brand reach the next level. “They’ve always just flown under the radar, but we have everything we need.”
The vineyards comprise 30 acres straddling the exclusive Silverado Trail in Napa, and plans for the estate include a 2021 opening of a 21,000-square foot winemaking facility and tasting room. But right now, not much more than a humble but functional trailer sits on the property, standing in for a tasting room and office. Still, the future seems bright.
After her appointment to the role, French recruited renowned viticulture expert Steve Matthiasson, who worked alongside her at Napa bluechip winery Dalla Valle, and consulting director of winemaking Celia Welch.
She’s active in a handful of groups aimed at fostering a more welcoming environment for women and BIPOC wine professionals and enthusiasts, including board roles with Batonnage Forum and Wine Unify.
What was it that initially spurred French, a rising star whose tenure at Dalla Valle was much heralded, to sign on with Ray Signorello, the owner of his eponymous winery? His love of winemaking and the chance to help the family chart a course not just for next year but for the next decade certainly played a role.
“But he also has two daughters, and Ray told me: ‘I hope they will see someone like you taking control and say to themselves, “If she can do it, we can do it,’” French says. “It’s not about him. He’s planning for his daughters to come and guide the future of the property.”
Maybe being optimistic about the future is the first step towards changing it.
Collecting for Beginners
Courtesy of Robert Mondavi
Older wines in good condition can be hard to come by. But French has three pieces of advice for aspiring collectors.
Scan the Sites
French recommends three auction sites for older wines. Winebid.com “is very reliable,” she says. “If you get a bad bottle you just email them and they replace it.” Benchmarkwine.com has a great newsletter. And nolimitfinewines.com “is kind of my secret. I’m not sure I should even be telling you about it.”
Know Your Houses
Some wineries have made a practice of keeping old stock available, which means you’re more likely to be able to find it. French echoed what many in the Napa Valley will say about Stony Hill’s older white wines. And Mondavi’s bottlings from the 1980s “are all drinking spectacularly well right now,” she says.
Join Forces
While COVID has curtailed wine gatherings, you can still share the load of scanning for new auctions, and if you’re able to taste at a remove, share the cost. “My husband and I are in three tasting groups,” says French. “It’s great for access to wine but also you have all of these other palates in forming the experience.”
Essential Wine Gear
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Le Creuset Waiter’s Friend Corkscrew
A textbook version of the ubiquitous sommelier’s knife, but with a comfier handle, a sharp blade for slicing through capsules, and a double-hinged lever for easy extraction of even the most stubborn synthetic corks.
Riedel WineWings Glasses
We’ve duked it out over fancy glassware in the past, but this series of wine glasses might make converts of the mason jar set. With a flatter bottom profile and undulating curves to afford for vigorous swirls, the Silhouette of each glass is designed to provide maximum air contact with the contents. That means the aromas meet your nose and meld with the palate of your wine to provide an orgiastic crescendo of sensory components.
Hard Strong 7-Ounce Stackable Glasses
Made in Japan since 1967 and strengthened through an Ion-Exchange process, these glasses are compact, stackable, and ultra-durable. They’re often used for hot tea in ramen shops, but they function just as well with a weeknight Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (or a thumb of whiskey). Bonus: A six-pack of these costs less than a single Riedel!
North Drinkware Glasses
Glass half-empty or half-full is not what we’re mulling with this smart series of tumblers, which features relief sculptures of prominent mountains in the base. What better way to contemplate the heights you’ll reach in the year ahead than to drain a dram with heft like this?
Corning Pyrex Erlenmeyer “Decanter”
Go ahead, drop $300 on a fancy blown-glass decanter. That’s blown money, once it meets the edge of an elbow after the third bottle of the night. We’ll be drinking the money we saved by using this dirt-cheap and durable Pyrex surrogate, which is made for the lab but works damn well enough on wine, too. It’s food safe, brand-new, and best of all cheaper than most wine we’d recommend.
Coravin Wine-Preservation Systems
Previous models of this system injected inert Argon gas through the cork via hypodermic needle, pushing wine back out and preserving the delicate juice inside. That’s fine for sipping your way through $800 bottles of cult cab, but for the average drinker just looking to prolong something pretty damn good, or maybe to work through a few bottles in a night without the pressure of draining them, this system is a life-saver. Instead of punching through the cork, you’ll swap on grommeted rubber necks after the cork is removed. The result: Four weeks versus a few days of post-cork longevity—and zero opener’s remorse.
This Story Came From the 2020 Wine Issue—Read It Here!
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