Sky Vineyards, situated on Mt. Veeder, was founded in 1973 by Lore Olds. Lore purchased the property in 1972 and planted the Zinfandel shortly thereafter. The vineyard is dry farmed and for that reason the winery holds the wine back 2-4 years prior to release. Sky also produces a Syrah, Riesling and Rosé. Lore himself, designs all the labels.
Purple in color. 13.6% ABV. Tremendous nose of black fruits, citrus, licorice and pepper. Medium body with medium to strong acidity. Rustic but charming. Blackberry, cocoa, blood orange and earth on the palate. The finish is long and tart. Made in an old school manner, this Syrah is thoroughly unique and easy to drink. Best over the next 2-3 years.
My rating: 90 points.
Sky Vineyards does have a mailing list which you can join by emailing skyvineyards@gmail.com. Sky can only be found at retail in a handful of states so I decided to sign up for the list. Sky recently expanded shipping to include more states than California but works with a local warehouse to ship to other locations. The ’14 vintage of Syrah was just released and costs $30.
Sky is open by appointment and will do their best to entertain guests but bear in mind this is a family run winery so allow for a little flexibility when trying to schedule a visit.