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 Olds designs the label for each new vintage. The winery flies under the radar despite selling fruit to Bedrock and becoming a cult favorite on WineBerserkers. The Olds family lost their house and a portion of the vineyard in the 2017 fires and deserve our support.
Crimson in color. 14% ABV. Sensational nose of black fruits, anise and cocoa. Medium body with medium acidity. Claret style Zinfandel with prominent fruits. The wine took about thirty minutes to open up. Black cherry, blackberry, earth and pepper on the palate. Nice length on the finish. The Sky Vineyards Zins reward cellaring but I am inclined to drink this one over the next several years.
My rating: 92 points.
Sky Vineyards does have a mailing list which you can join by emailing skyvineyards@gmail.com. Sky can also be found at retail in a handful of states. Sky ships to California but works with a local warehouse to ship to other locations. The ’12-’15 vintages of Sky Zinfandel are available on the winery website for $45-$50. I expect the ’16 will be available soon. You would be well served to buy a bottle or two while they are still available. If you are curious I have reviewed all and you can use the search function to see my notes.
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.