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Wine Details
Price:
Description:
Full of flavor, young and vibrant. Deep, lingering, wanting more. This describes our Italian relationship with Zinfandel. Whether the vintage is particularly rich, or imminently matched with Gorgonzola cheese and a plate of pasta, we love the Zinfandel as no other variety. Bottled on February 15th, 2004, the Zinfandel is ready to drink. Alcohol skirts just under 14% by volume. We are careful not to produce alcohol bombs or short-palate fruit bombs. Ours is always 100% Zinfandel. Color is not darkened by adding other varietals, such as Petite Sirah. The pepper on the nose comes from the combination of this Zinfandel growing in this location. The bramble blackberry aromas come naturally from the Zinfandel brought in from our vineyards. This is unmanipulated, straight on Zin. Drink it young for its lively fruit and edgy tannins, or let it age. It has the legs for it.
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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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Petite Sirah:
Petite Sirah is the same as the French variety known as Durif, a cross of Peloursin, with the true Syrah. A French nurseryman, Dr. François Durif, propagated the grape trying for resistance to powdery mildew and named it after himself, in the 1870s. Petite Sirah has long been an important blending grape, prized primarily for its deep color and fairly intense tannin. It is the variety most often chosen to blend into Zinfandel for added color, complexity, body, and to tone down the tendency of Zins toward "jammy" fruit.
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