ZINFANDEL
Zinfandel originates from a small area in Croatia where it is called "Crljenak Kastelanski". A Vitis vinifera varietal, it produces an intensely flavored red wine that can be vinified as a lively fruity wine for drinking young or made into an intensely colored red wine that will respond well to long ageing. The flavor and aroma profiles are intensely fruity, with blackberry and raspberry notes complimented with spicy anise and pepper notes.
Our Zinfandel vineyard is grown on the classic benchland of Dry Creek Valley where our 40 year old vines are head trained and dry farmed. The vines look like twisted mini trees with thick trunks and sinuously twisted arms. As the shoots grow up in Spring, their weight causes them to gently fall toward the ground. The fruit then grows at the top of the vine just under the cover of the first leaves of the shoots, which contributes to dappled shade exposure.
For all things Zinfandel, please use this link to open a window to the ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers) website. A nice discussion of Dry Creek Zinfandels on the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley website is HERE. A discussion of the recent Carole Meredith sleuthing triumph is in this article in the FPMS Grape Program Newsletter. A nice discussion of Zinfandel appears in the Appellation American website.