27 posts
2016 Easton Zinfandel ($18) Easton Wines was founded in the late 80s by husband and wife team Bill Easton and Jane O’Riordan. Bill puts his family name, EASTON, on their non-Rhône varietal wines. The wines are crafted from varietals that have tradi...
2018 Rombauer Zinfandel ($42) Koerner and Joan Rombauer established Rombauer Vineyards in 1980, and in 1984 they released their first California-style Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wines. One interesting note about the Rombauer family is that K...
2022 Sonoma Grove Zinfandel ($8) This Sonoma Grove 2022 Zinfandel is produced for the Navigator Wine Collection (formerly Precision Wine Company). They cellar and bottle the wine. The actual wine producer is not available. Sonoma Grove wine is from...
2017 Frank Family Napa Zinfandel ($38) Rich Frank, the founder of Frank Family Winery, developed a passion for wine, particularly Bordeaux and Italian wines, during his extensive travels as the former President of Disney Studios. In the 1980s, he di...
2020 Cline Eight Spur Dry Creek Zinfandel ($25) Cline Family Cellars, a certified sustainable family-owned and operated winery and vineyard holder based in the Carneros wine appellation of Sonoma County, California, has recently announced the introd...
2020 Cline Family Ancient Vines Zinfandel ($16) Fred Cline founded Cline Family Cellars in 1982 in Oakley, California, which is part of Conta Costa County. With this 40th year vintage, they have created the special anniversary bottle design shown in...
Silvia Cellars is a small family-owned winery whose mission is to produce a small number of high-quality California wines from some of California’s best vineyards. And, matching vineyard to varietal is the key to their process for producing outstandi...
2017 Rombauer El Dorado “Twin Rivers” Zinfandel ($42) Rombauer’s El Dorado (“the golden”) Vineyard is located 1,650 feet above sea level in the Sierra Foothills of El Dorado County, California. Its sandy soils, high elevation, and warm days and cool...
2013 Dry Creek Old Vine Zinfandel Reserve ($35) The inspiration for Silvia Cellars began in 1885 on a family owned vineyard in Sicily. Striving to create quality wine for his dinner table, Nonno Silvia shared a passion for vendemmia (harvesting) of...
2016 Rockpile Winery Zinfandel ($47) This Rockpile Zinfandel is produced by Mauritson wines in Heldsburg CA. The Rockpile Ridge Vineyard is located at nearly 1,200 feet in elevation in the Rockpile appellation. This vineyard has sweeping sun expos...
2013 Alexander Valley Vineyards Primitivo ($45) This week’s Behind the Cork™ feature is a special one. During my last visit to Alexander Valley Vineyards I had the pleasure of spending time in the tasting room with Denise Gill, their Tasting Room Ma...
2017 Artezin Old Vine Zinfandel ($16) This handcrafted Old Vine Zinfandel from winemaker Randle Johnson comes from northern California’s Mendocino County. Johnson has been the man behind Artezin’s wines since their inception in 2002. The vision be...
2016 PARS Old Vine Zinfandel ($8) This was a recent unexpected fine. I really enjoy the wines of Amador County and that’s what caught my eye about this one. And, at $8, I had to give it a try. The grapes of Amador County didn’t let me down. This is...
California’s Gold Rush of the 1850s included the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. As fortune seekers flocked to the Sierras to prospect for gold, small wineries also began to appear. But the decline of gold mining in the late 18...
Zinfandel is a very popular California wine. One that can take on two very different flavor personalities. Zinfandel that is grown in warm places usually results in grapes that get very ripe and produce big jammy “fruit bomb” flavors. High alcohol...
2015 1000 Stories Zinfandel ($18) I’ve had my eyes on this one for a while now. It differentiates itself by noting on the front label that it is “Bourbon Barrel Aged.” Aging wines in oak barrels is common, but I’ve not seen a wine aged in Bourbon b...
2016 Artezin Old Vine Zinfandel ($18) This Zinfandel comes from California’s Mendocino County that has a climate with warm days and cool evenings that provides for great growing conditions and optimal ripening. Winemaker Randle Johnson, who has been...
2015 Cline Family Cellars Lodi Zinfandel ($6) Excellent Zinfandels come from Lodi. And, at $6 for this one is a steal. Along with being a great value, this Cline Zinfandel has real nice spice and pepper notes with nice fruit that isn’t jammy. Wines...
2013 Tobin James Ballistic Zinfandel ($14) Tobin James is one of the larger producers in Paso Robles. Located on the east side of Highway 101, this winery has a salon-style tasting room and a fun atmosphere. The Ballistic Zinfandel is one of their ...
2014 Manzanita Creek Cloud Buster Zinfandel ($10) Another good one from Sonoma’s Manzanita Creek. This Cloud Buster is labeled as a Zinfandel varietal as it should be since it is produced with at least 75% Zinfandel (80% to be precise). But, as i...
2013 Manzanita Creek 8th Street Zinfandel ($12) Manzanita Creek is a super winery in the town of Healdburg in Sonoma County. And this 8th Street Zinfandel is a really nice one. Great jammy flavors, easy tannin and just the right amount of oak to gi...
2014 Oak Ridge Lodi Ancient Vine Zinfandel ($12) This Zinfandel has great dark fruit flavors, a bit of black pepper and nice chocolate, vanilla and caramel from its oak aging. While this Zinfandel varietal is made from at least 75% of the Zinfandel ...
2014 Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel ($10) Just having featured “Old Vine Zinfandel - Is it Better?” I thought it would be good to bring back a wine that was featured in this blog last year. This old vine Zinfandel comes from vines that are 60 to 80 years ...
Often, you’ll see the words “Old Vine” on the label of a Zinfandel. But what does it really mean and does it equate with a better wine? First, you need to realize that “Old Vine” is not a regulated term. It can appear on any bottle of wine. Most in...
2013 Fife Creek Vineyards Russian River Valley Zinfandel ($10) This was a recent find of a Russian River Valley Zin that doesn’t break the bank. This Zin tends toward being light for a Zinfandel. It’s almost leaning toward a light-bodied wine, almos...
2014 Old Zin Vines Zinfandel ($12) This Zinfandel from Lodi comes from 50 to 100 year old vines. And it’s a big jammy Zinfandel. Loaded with flavors of blackberries, raspberries, chocolate and mocha, it’s smooth with very soft tannin. This is a grea...
It’s always fun to find and try new and different wines. And, when it comes to exploring “Old World Wines” it can be even more of an adventure. That’s what happened to me when studying the shelves of Italian wines. I came across a completely unknown ...