Wine By Nine

Red Wine by Renwood from Sierra Foothills, California. The flamboyant, fragrant 2004 Zinfandel Grandmere (2,000 cases produced) boasts plenty of berry fruit, pepper, spice, and earth as well as loads of glycerin, a voluptuous texture, and a heady, pure, rich finish. It will drink well for 3-4 years. -Wine Advocate A deep garnet red with brick tones on the edge. The aroma of this wine welcomes the drinker with its soft, yet complex fruit. Blackberry and holiday spice mid-palate essences balance the wine as it finishes with a rich texture of vanilla and dark red fruits. The full bodied tannin structure is built for a lasting finish. Our Grandmere Zinfandel represents a blend of the finest Zinfandel vineyards that reside throughout the hillsides of Amador County's gold country. These vineyards provide us with fruit from ancient vines. We choose the name Grandmere (or Grandmother) because fruit from these vineyards result in a wine that is consistently warm and friendly, gracefully mature and immediately inviting.

Red Wine by Sineann from Columbia Valley, Washington. Our flagship wine. It is the oldest producing vineyard in the Pacific Northwest at nearly 100 years old. Every year it makes either the best wine we put out or very close to it. In 2006 we picked at 26 Brix, cropping at under two tons per acre. The wine is dark and immensely concentrated. To those who wonder if Zinfandel can be ripened outside of California, we offer this example. Not only does Zinfandel ripen on this old vineyard, it maintains balancing acidity to produce a wine that ages beautifully.

Red Wine by Montevina from Sierra Foothills, California. Blackberry flavors are spiked by black pepper. Petite Sirah adds a little tannin, plenty of rich blue-black color and black fig spice. Barbera lightens up the mix with red plum and red cherry juicy fruit. There is also a fourth dimension of exotic sandalwood, vanilla, cola and smoky meatiness. The structure, depth, and complexity of this wine leads itself perfectly to an herb crusted leg of lamb, spiced couscous, and roasted root vegetables.

Red Wine by Ridge from Sonoma County, California. 70% Zinfandel, 18% Carignane, 10% Petite Sirah, 2% Mataro After fourteen months in barrel, the wine is fully integrated. Elegant tannins and intense fruit make it enjoyable now; it will be best over the next eight to ten years.

Red Wine by Grgich Hills from Napa Valley, California. Grgich Hills ages their Zinfandel in large oak casks so the flavors are well integrated but not overwhelmed by oak. The result is an irresistible mix of strawberries and raspberries with a hint of allspice that keeps evolving as the wine sits in the glass. Nicely balanced between acidity and alcohol, this medium-bodied Zinfandel's forward fruit and soft tannins make it a great match with grilled meats, pizza and pastas with tomato sauce.

Red Wine by Seghesio from Sonoma County, California. Seghesio Old Vine Zinfandel perfectly embodies their family's goal of sharing uncommon ground as only the finest lots from their oldest vineyards are selected for this composite blend. Pomegranate minerality. Deep flavors of briery underbrush and spicy sweet raspberry and cherry Nuances of fine toasted French oak. Juicy acidity contributes to texture and richness Expressive old vine purity of fruit. The underlying structure and ripe tannins from old vines provide synergy and length. Food pairings: Beef, pasta with red sauce, barbecue, spicy cuisine

Red Wine by Ridge from Sonoma County, California. Blend: 77% Zinfandel, 17% Petite Sirah, 6% Carignane This elegant, full-bodied wine, with its firm tannins and intense, complex fruit, is among the finest of recent vintages. Enjoyable now, it will develop further over the next ten years.

Red Wine by Grgich Hills from Napa Valley, California. Blend: 88% Zinfandel, 12% Petite Sirah This darkly colored wine almost glows in the glass with lively flavors and aromas of strawberries, raspberries, with a touch of forest floor and leather. There is also a bit of Petite Sirah grown at this vineyard, which was co-fermented with the Zinfandel to add even more spice and body. This elegant wine has a wonderful texture and is well balanced between acidity and alcohol. Enjoy with grilled meats, pizza and pastas.

Red Wine by Renwood from Sierra Foothills, California. The block called Jack Rabbit Flat Zinfandel comes from the Fox Creek Vineyard, which is one of the classic ancient vineyards of Amador County that was planted over 80 years ago. This immaculately maintained vineyard gives the head-trained vines the ability to ripen to maximum potential. Thus, the fruit is picked at the highest degree of ripeness, resulting in a wine of great richness and complexity. The 2003 Jack Rabbit Flat Zinfandel is a dark ruby color that offers powerful jammy fruit characters of blackberry, cherry and plum with peppercorn and black pepper. On the palate, aromas of berry fruit and flavors of blackberry jam, cherry, white pepper, cocoa, mocha and blueberry that linger through the finish. This wine finishes with vanilla and hints of cedar and oak.

Red Wine by Dashe from Sonoma County, California. Dashe doesn't know why the Zinfandel vines at the Big River Ranch - just a few miles southeast of the town of Healdsburg - produce such inky-black, concentrated wines, but they certainly recognized from the start that this vineyard was sure to produce one of their very best Zinfandels. These head-trained vines on the rocky, red, steep slopes consistently produce a huge wine: thick, flavorful, and seductively rich. By combining this Zinfandel with a small amount of Petite Sirah from vines on the same ranch, Dashe was able to create a small amount of a wine that they feel is one of their most stylish and balanced, as well as mouth-filling, creations.

Red Wine by Ravenswood from Sonoma County, California. The mostly old vines that make up our Teldeschi are Zinfandel, Carignane and Petite Sirah, a melange typical of older vineyard plantings in California. The three varieties are fermented separately and blended to taste. Native yeast fermentation, small open-top fermenters, manual punching down of the cap, minimal processing and aging in small French oak cooperage all contribute to a style that brings out the best of the vineyard, power and big flavors.This 2003 Teldeschi Zinfandel has huge, jammy, inky, slightly porty aromas infused with black pepper, vanilla and hints of tar, smoke and coffee blend. A very broad, intense wine with huge fruit, lots of those luscious Dry Creek bing cherry and sweet plum characters. Another fabulous Dry Creek benchland zinfandel.

Red Wine by Ridge from Napa Valley, California. Blend: 89% Zinfandel, 11% Petite Sirah York Creek Vineyard lies high on Spring Mountain, overlooking Napa Valley. The 2005 growing season began late; foul April weather disrupted bloom and set, substantially reducing the crop, but consistent summer weather enabled Ridge to harvest, as usual, in late September. Grapes from the individual parcels were destemmed, then crushed to seven small tanks-three with grids submerging the cap of skins, four with cap floating. Natural fermentation began within three days, they pressed on the eighth; only a small amount of press wine was included. Following a brief uninoculated malolactic, the separate lots were racked to fifty-three-gallon air-dried american oak barrels to begin aging. By May, Ridge had assembled the most distinctive of these, returning them to barrel for further aging as a blend. Every three months, the wine was carefully drawn off its settled lees to achieve clarity. A mix of new, two-, and four-year-old oak allows vineyard and varietal character to dominate. This appealing Zinfandel is redolent of York Creek's well-defined mountain fruit. Enjoyable now, it will continue to develop over the next five to six years. 11% Petite Sirah. Solidly fruity right from the start with touches of caramel and new leather overlying its essential themes of ripe berries and plums, Ridge's York Creek bottling proves that full ripeness in Zin does not necessarily come with bothersome heat or jammy simplicity. It is moderately rich but never flamboyant, and, if trimmed with noticeable edge of Petite Sirah tannin, it is very much a table wine in direction and will develop nicely if set aside for a few years. -Connoisseurs' Guide