Wine of the Month

Wine of the Month

This year we are going to feature one wine each month to spotlight. This wine will be available for purchase at a 20% discount!
We are kicking this year off with the 2018 Zinfandel, Ormsby Trail Vinyard.

2018 Zinfandel, Ormsby Trail Vineyard, SCM Winemaking and Tasting Notes

Harvest Date: September 16th
Grapes: Average Brix 23.5
Fermentation: Small batch in 1/2 ton bins, manual punch downs, pressed at 15 days
Barrels: 100% French oak, 11% new
Aging: 22 months in barrel
Finished Wine: Unfined and minimally filtered for clarity. Dry, pH=3.74
Production: 200 Cases, exactly!
Vintage Notes: A dry winter led to early bud break, while three March storms rescued the rain total, but still finished below average. The remainder of the growing season was ideal, culminating with unusually cool 70’s and 80’s degree highs late August – early September leading to perfect harvest conditions throughout the end of the month.

Tasting Notes: Our Zinfandel is packed full with dark cherry, blueberry, and blackberry laced fruit, with a touch of coffee on the finish. It’s a versatile wine, perfect for Summer barbecue or a slow cooked Winter stew – your choice as it’s a wine for all seasons. A staff favorite for sure!

Ormsby Trail Vineyard

This picture illuminates the dramatic site that is Ormsby Trail Vineyard, the source for our Zinfandel. Sitting high in the Santa Cruz Mountains at about 2,600 feet, these Zinfandel vines bask in the sunshine while gazing at the lush redwoods below and fogged in Pacific in the distance. Hand tended by growers Peter and Harrieth Wagner, this steep hillside is a perfect site for mountain grown Zin.

Zinfandel, California’s Grape?

With over 40,000 acres planted, Zinfandel is California’s fourth most widely planted wine grape; and it’s scarcely grown anywhere else. Too much of it is wasted in the ubiquitous “White Zin”, but grown properly, it makes for a scrumptious red.

For many years it was thought that Zinfandel was truly a California “original”. But recent research found that Zinfandel is in fact identical to the Primitivo grape of Southern Italy. As it turns out, neither the Italians nor the Americans had it first, however. The original “Zinfandel” plants hail from Croatia, and bare the tongue-twisting names of Tribidrag and/or Crljenak Kasteljanski. In fact, neighboring winery Ridge has propigatied a vineyard using cuttings from Croatia, and labels one such wine Tribidrag!