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Wine Details
Price:
$18.00 per bottle
Description:
Another new product that we are excited about is our 2002 EASTON Late Harvest Zinfandel from the Herbert-Cappelli Vineyard in El Dorado County. Marco Cappelli (Swanson Vineyards) asked us if we wanted to try out his fruit after he purchased the historic Herbert property near Somerset in 2002. We obliged and the fruit lent itself to making a Late Harvest wine in the 2002 vintage. Picked ultra ripe at 30 brix, the wine still retains a sense of style and balance without overt dehydrated Zinfandel flavors. Rich, raspberry milk chocolate flavors with an attractive spiciness that I like to get in most of my Zinfandels. We bottled it in 500 ml bottles, which seemed appropriate for a wine with 16% natural alcohol and about 4% residual sugar.
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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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