Alberto Rafanelli, an Italian immigrant, first founded A. Rafanelli Winery in the early 1900’s. It wasn’t until the early 70’s that Alberto’s son, Americo, came out with the present day label and started selling the wine commercially. David and Patty Rafanelli now run the winery and a 4th generation Rafanelli, their daughter Shelly, is the winemaker. The winery is perhaps…
Every wine consumer seems to have a “line in the sand” price for certain varietals. For Napa Cabernet, many draw the line at $100. Top flight Pinot Noir and Syrah from California draw wide support up to the $50 price point. For Zinfandel the threshold seems much lower. That point for Zinfandel seems to be right around $40. Why is…
Turley Wine Cellars was founded in 1993 by Larry Turley and specializes in small lots of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah from some of California’s most historic and treasured vineyards.
Williams Selyem Pinot Noir gets so much critical acclaim that I often feel their world class Zinfandel and Chardonnay lineups get overlooked. Forchini Vineyard is located just south of Healdsburg in Russian River Valley. The 100 year old vines produce a miniscule amount of fruit each year.
I had been waiting for the right occasion to open a Zinfandel from one of my favorite Pinot Noir producers and Independence Day seemed liked the perfect fit. When this wine was produced, it had been more than 30 years since Dehlinger last made a Zinfandel. The fruit for this wine was sourced from the century-old vines of Guadagni Vineyard…
What better way to celebrate Independence Day, the most American of holidays, than with Zinfandel, the most American of wines? France can arguably lay claim to the best Syrah, Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Merlot and Chardonnay. Germany to the best Riesling. But the USA lays claim to the best Zinfandel!
When I first became interested in Zinfandel the buzz was always around the Three R’s of Zinfandel: Ravenswood, Rosenblum and Ridge. 20 years later Ridge is still at the top of its game, turning out single vineyard Zinfandel from some of California’s most precious vineyards.