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Zinfandel

Late Harvest Zinfandel Wine Details
Price: $22.00 per bottle

Description: If you can remember back to one of our earliest vintages, this wine is incredibly reminiscent of the famed 1981 Late Harvest Zinfandel. The nose is all Zin! Big and bold, the anise, cinnamon, cedar and clove meld together, presenting a classic pot-pourri of Zinfandel spice. And then enters the fruit. Bright raspberry, luscious cherry, fresh currant and juicy strawberry balance each other so perfectly that the characters build seamlessly to that first sip. And then it happens—the wine hits the senses. The palate is lush with tree-ripened plum and cherry fruit with just a hint of prune for complexity. The sweetness balances the tannins and that little note of heat on the finish, showcasing a wine rich in character with an elegance to boot. Consider it the proverbial cowboy in a tuxedo!

Varietal Definition
Zinfandel:
Zinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California wine vineyards. DNA fingerprinting revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kaštelanski, and also the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in the 'heel' of Italy. It is typically made into a robust red wine. Its taste depends on the ripeness of the grapes from which it is made. Red berry fruits like raspberry predominate in wines from cooler areas such as the Napa Valley, whereas blackberry, anise and pepper notes are more common in wines made in warmer areas such as Sonoma County. Many Zinfandels come from head pruned ‘Old Vines’. ‘Old Vine’ is generally understood to mean a vine that is more than 50 years old and that produces less than three tons per acre. ‘Head Pruning’ is an old European style of pruning that trains the vine into the shape of a goblet. It requires no wires or other complex trellis systems. Head pruning spreads the fruit uniformly along the vine and allows light penetration.In the USA a semi-sweet Rosé (blush-style) wine called ‘White Zinfandel’ has achieved widespread popularity. In fact, this popularity has so outstripped all other forms that many fans think there is actually a grape called “White Zinfandel” (there isn’t)!


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