We know what you’re probably thinking. Maybe choosing a name like this was asking for it. But let’s make one thing perfectly clear: the members of La Famiglia are legitimate businesspeople engaged in lawful commerce.

For instance, consider their Pinot Grigio vineyards, sprawling across the hillsides along the Arroyo Seco river, at the western end of the Salinas Valley in Monterey County, central California. La Famiglia uses this acreage to produce grapes with lush, complex flavors and crisp balance, and certainly not as a venue for discreetly resolving certain problematic personnel issues. Yes, the full canopy development of the unusually long 2004 growing season would have provided a measure of concealment for illicit activities in the vineyards. But all La Famiglia did was cultivate and harvest grapes for use in production of their crisp, dry 2004 Pinot Grigio, and they defy anyone to produce evidence to the contrary.

Like Pinots from the old count- er, from Italy, the La Famiglia 2004 Pinto Grigio sprinkles mineral, floral, and spice nuances into its fruit salad of apple and citrus flavors, with a tangerine kick to get it across the finish line. Blended with Tocai Friulano and Chardonnay, this wine has a full-bodied, elegant texture and excellent weight and complexity on the palate. Scurrilous rumors to the contrary, these Pinot Grigio grapes yielded their juices easily under only the gentlest pressing. La Famiglia staff had neither the need nor the desire to employ more physically intense methods.

Just take a sip or two of these four bottles – ideally with oysters, sushi, prosciutto, or spring salads with goat cheese – and you’ll see that there’s no way La Famiglia could produce well-crafted wine with such loving attention to detail AND oversee a sophisticated illicit racketeering operation. Would you like to discuss these matters further? You’re invited to take a little car ride up into the hills, where La Famiglia representatives will be happy to clear up any misconceptions you may have about the nature of their work.

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