Welcome to the latest installment of The Week in Zinfandel. If I missed your post or story please send me a link and I will be sure to include it next week. Happy reading!
2006 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Coastlands Vineyard – Bottle Notes
Williams Selyem Winery began when Ed Selyem and Burt Williams started making wine as a hobby in 1979 in Forestville, California. Their first commercial release was in 1981, and in less than two decades they created a cult-status winery of international acclaim. Setting a new standard for Pinot Noir winemaking, they put Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley at the forefront…
2017 Brittan Vineyards Pinot Noir Cygnus Block – Bottle Notes
Robert Brittan left Stags’ Leap Winery in Napa after 16 years as Winemaker and Estate Manager to fulfill his dream of making Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah from unique sites in cooler climates. In 2004 he and his wife Ellen purchased a 128 acre estate in the foothills of the Coast Range in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and shortly thereafter founded Brittan Vineyards. All of the wines made at Brittan Vineyards are estate wines.…
2015 Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel Pagani Ranch – Bottle Notes
Ridge Vineyards was founded in 1959 when three Stanford Research Institute engineers bought an abandoned winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The vineyards had been planted in the late 19th century by a San Francisco physician who produced his first vintage in the original winery, called Monte Bello, in 1892. The first Ridge vintage was in 1962. John Olney is Head…
2017 K Vintners Syrah Motor City Kitty Oldfield-Boushey Vineyard – Bottle Notes
Winemaker Charles Smith opened the doors to his first winery, K Vintners, in December 2001. His first vintage was 330 cases of 1999 K Syrah. K Vintners is about small lots of single-vineyard Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Tempranillo, Sangiovese and field blends of those grapes, all of which are hand-picked, fermented with naturally occurring yeasts and basket pressed. Boushey Oldfield Block…
Pick My Next Bottle – A 2003 Chateauneuf-du-Pape for Thanksgiving
The November installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the the 2003 vintage. As I mentioned in the first installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. The winning bottle will be opened on Thanksgiving and a Bottle Note will be published this coming weekend.…
The Week in Zinfandel (11/14/22)
Welcome to the latest installment of The Week in Zinfandel. If I missed your post or story please send me a link and I will be sure to include it next week. Happy reading!
2016 Holocene Pinot Noir Apocrypha – Bottle Notes
Holocene was founded by Todd and Carrie Alexander in 2015. Todd, of course, is the winemaker at Force Majeure and prior to that at Bryant Family Vineyards. Holocene makes two Pinots, a Syrah and a Pinot Gris. Dark crimson in color. 14.6% ABV. Intriguing nose of red fruits, citrus, flowers and forest floor. Medium body with exquisite acidity. Rich and…
2017 Bedrock Wine Co. Heritage Wine Papera Ranch – Bottle Notes
Bedrock Wine Co. was founded by Morgan Twain-Peterson in 2007 and focuses on small production wines from many of California’ s most treasured and historic vineyards. The lineup of wines at Bedrock is expanding rapidly, but I think the best of the best are the ancient vineyard Zinfandels, Morgan is clearly passionate about. Papera Ranch is situated in the Russian…
2018 Sandlands Refosco – Bottle Notes
Sandlands is the personal project of Tegan and Olivia Passalacqua. Tegan is the Winemaker and Vineyard Manager at Turley. The line-up encompasses some of the forgotten classic California varieties, primarily grown in decomposed granite from regions and vineyards that have been farmed for many generations but have remained the outliers of California viticulture. The wines made at Sandlands include Syrah,…