In the wine industry, there is always a bit of controversy. The latest gem is the ongoing debate over whether or not zinfandel should be considered the official state grape of California.
Personally, I’m all for it. My argument is based on the fact that unlike cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah or pinot noir, zinfandel is a red grape variety that has never really had a true European model to follow. Instead it started from the ground up.
As we’ve found out recently thanks to DNA testing, the origins of this grape can be directly traced to Croatia. It primarily was brought here during the Gold Rush era in the mid 1800s and basically left to survive numerous bouts with harsh weather conditions and diseases that decimated many other grape varieties over a 150-year period.
Of course, this unique thick-skinned grape variety has also received a little help from human hands. In particular, from wineries that helped save these classic gnarly old vines from being yanked out of the ground. One of the specialty brands that led the fight to preserve these unique yet quirky vines is Ravenswood, a Sonoma-based winery started by maverick winemaker Joel Peterson and business partner W. Reed Foster in 1976.
This year marks the 30-year anniversary of this local winery and the 15-year anniversary since it moved into the beautiful tasting room and winemaking facility on Gehricke Road, east of downtown Sonoma. It is also a time to reflect on how the zinfandel grape helped power the shared bravado of “No Wimpy Wines,” a grassroots marketing theme that continues to work wonders for getting the point across to consumers.
In essence the key to this success has been the passion that Peterson and his winemaking team have consistently shown for making outstanding wines with fruit from classic zinfandel vines that are head-pruned, dry farmed, and commonly aged at 70 years or older.
Today, of the nearly one million cases produced annually by Ravenswood, over 75 percent of the wines are zinfandel-based. This includes three separate price points: the fun, everyday drinking wine style of the Vintners Blend; the more specific flavor profiles of the county series; and the unique characteristics of wines that are part of the single-vineyard designate series.
To put this in perspective, nearly one out of every five bottles of zinfandel opened in America bares the Ravenswood icon on the label. Not bad for a winery that produced just 327 cases for its first vintage in the mid 1970s!
Perhaps even more fascinating is the fact that the winery owns very little vineyards of its own. Instead, the majority of the fruit used is sourced from long-standing relationships with over 60 independent growers. Even more impressive, many of these dynamic vineyards are based in Sonoma Valley.
The most famous is Old Hill Ranch, a vineyard planted in 1880 in the warm region referred to by locals as the “Banana Belt” in the heart of the Valley. The site features a field blend of zinfandel, grenache, petite sirah, alicante bouschet, tempranillo, mataro (mourvedre), grand noir, tannat, and 16 other intriguing grape varieties. When blended together this unique selection of grapes produces a wines that feature a substantial amount of structure and backbone that becomes more like fine California claret as it ages.
Closer to Agua Caliente is the Barricia Vineyard, another special site featuring zinfandel vines planted on a mixture of alluvial and cobbled red volcanic soils. Of the 10 acres of zinfandel vines that Ravenswood uses from the property, six were planted in 1892. As a result, the intriguing blend of old vine fruit with newer plantings of zinfandel and a touch of petite sirah results in a wine that coat the palate with lush flavors of ripe blackberries, currants, plums, and black pepper spice.
Other intriguing vineyard designate zinfandels bottled by Ravenswood include Teldeschi (Dry Creek Valley), Big River (Alexander Valley), Belloni (Russian River Valley), Dickerson (Napa Valley), Cooke and the newly acquired Bedrock Vineyard (both Sonoma Valley). Across the board, these wines feature a variety of unique characteristics, from subtle to bold, that set them apart from all others.
“In each case, the vineyards we work with are in balance, they have intriguing history that makes them special, and they have personality that sets them apart from all the rest,” said Peterson.
According to Peterson, the main goal in working with the fruit from each unique site is to capture the intensity from the grapes and layers of flavors by keeping the levels of alcohol in check on a consistent basis. “When consumers pick up a bottle of Ravenswood zinfandel, we want them to know what to expect!”
For more information about Ravenswood, the zinfandel grape, or special events scheduled to celebrate the winery’s thirty-year anniversary, check out the “Zinfomania” website at www.Ravenswood-wines.com.
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