Posts Tagged "Zinfandel"

Old Zin in Calaveras: Not the chocolate Ghirardellis, these still own their name

“Our family vineyard has survived and the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company was sold long ago.” Welcome to the oldest Zinfandel vineyard in Calaveras County, California. Calaveras County lies south of Amador County within the larger Sierra Foothills AVA (American Viticultural Area). Summer days are warm here, but evenings in the Sierra Foothills cool off, particularly at [...]

Bogle’s Phantom Red from the heart of California

In the realm of the “Old Ghost” from Klinker Brick I posted about a couple of weeks ago, this “Phantom” from Bogle flirts with the same sort of “out of the past” branding for an old vine wine. Bogle is a family winery located in the Sacramento River delta, near Clarksburg, California. Initially famous for [...]

Fish Rock Road vines, long forgotten islands in time

California State Route 128 winds from Cloverdale through the Anderson Valley to the Mendocino Coast. You can turn west off 128, between Yorkville and Boonville, onto Fish Rock Road, and follow it to the Pacific at Anchor Bay. But not many people do. It’s almost 28 miles of windy, only marginally improved roadway, that meanders [...]

Old Ghost from Klinker Brick in Lodi – old vines yielding less than one ton per acre

The Lodi AVA (American Viticultural Area) is particularly recognized for old vine Zinfandel, although it produces other varietals, too. The Lodi AVA is sits at the northern edge of the San Joaquin Valley by San Francisco Bay. It includes parts of southern Sacramento County and northern San Joaquin County, and is bounded on the east [...]

Age is Relative … Old Vine Wines on Long Island

I’ve written before about “old” being a somewhat relative notion for vines. If your vines are the oldest in your area, they are perforce “old” by your area’s standards. I came across a series of “Old Vine” bottlings from Lenz, a winery in Long Island (New York State). I thought to myself, “How old could [...]