Visitors to our tasting room often notice a black-and-white photo of a young boy raking grapes inside the gondola that he’s standing on. Naturally they assume it’s Bob, but it’s not, it’s his brother Mark. Like Bob, Mark grew up working in the vineyards alongside their father Aldo and learned to drive a tractor at age 8. Today he works with Bob and Raul Ramirez, vineyard supervisor, in their own farming company, consisting mostly of the Home Ranch which produces the heart of the Black Chicken, as well as the Aldo’s Vineyard Zin, Petite Sirah, and the Sangiovese named after their Nonna. Mark lives on the Home Ranch with his wife Vicki and their labradoodle Oscar, and sets the standard for farming Zinfandel for Black Chicken.
