#Winemaker Brad Webb and #AmbassadorZellerbach of @hanzellvineyard. “Brad Webb had landed the dream job. It was 1956, and he’d just been appointed winemaker at a new winery, Hanzell, founded by James D. Zellerbach, the wealthy US ambassador to Italy. Zellerbach had spared no expense in pursuing his dream of making classically styled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to rival the wines of Burgundy. Webb had at his disposal an array of shiny new tanks, casks, and barrels. But there was a problem. The early Pinot Noir that he made in the new facility looked promising, but it wouldn’t do malolactic fermentation (MLF), the conversion of malic acid to the softer lactic acid that usually takes place after alcoholic fermentation. Read more of this interesting and technical @GuildSomm article on Hanzell Vineyard’s place in history around the science of malolactic fermentation at our facebook page. ‪#‎SonomaValleyWine #TheRootsRunDeep #tbt #wine #winemaking #Californiawine #history