As a 10 year old, Bruce Cohn was milking goats on his father's goat dairy farm, picking grapes and playing in old wine vats in the Russian River Valley. In 1969 he became the manager for the Doobie Brothers. In 1974 he came back to Sonoma County and purchased an old dairy farm. That farm is now Olive Hill Estate with 61 acres of vineyards. In 1984 Bruce founded the B. R. Cohn Winery.
While producing many varietals, mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, they include one Zinfandel. The "Sonoma Valley Zinfandel" is mostly from estate fruit. Only 580 cases were produced for the 2004 vintage, which comes in with 14.8% alcohol.
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Joe Benziger is the winemaker and artist behind the Imagery Artist Collection Wines. He got his start in the wine business in New York when he was co-owner of a wine shop with his brother Bob. When another brother, Mike, launched Benziger Family Winery, Joe came west to help, eventually becoming the winemaker. In 2000 he started his own winery, Imagery Estate Winery and Art Gallery. In addition to featuring numerous ultra-premium wines, there are over 170 works of art on display. The Imagery Artist Collection features original works of art, with the only requirement that each include an image of the Parthenon.
The sole Zinfandel is in the Imagery Vineyard Collection of wines. The "Taylor Vineyard" Zinfandel is a small run of only 100 cases. The vines are over 100 years old, and the food friendly wine comes in at 14.5%.
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Kenwood Vineyards was founded in 1970 when wine enthusiasts from the San Francisco Bay Area refurbished and modernized the former Pagani Brothers Winery, originally established in 1906. The current winery is in the original building, but with a completely redesigned interior. Winemaker Pat Henderson makes a variety of wines in several series. Most are made from fruit grown on this 22 acre estate, but he sources grapes from some outstanding vineyards.
The "Yalupa Zinfandel" is only available at the winery and at some restaurants. It is a blend of 50/50 Mendocino and Sonoma fruit. The "Sonoma County Zinfandel" is a blend with fruit from both the Sonoma Valley and Fry Creek Valley. A portion of the fruit is from vines which have been producing since the 1940s. It spends 19 months in French and American oak. The "Reserve Zinfandel" has fruit from Dry Creek and Alexander Valley. Only 1,000 cases are produced. The "Jack London Zinfandel", one of their most famous labels, is from fruit grown on Jack London's ranch. It is a 120 acre vineyard which was planted in the 1970s. They also produce a "Vintage Red" which contains 40% Zinfandel.
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Over the past one hundred years, five generations of the Kunde family have farmed their 1,850 acre estate in Sonoma County’s fabled Valley of the Moon. Louis Kunde, from Germany, acquired the Wildwood Vineyards ranch in 1904. These vineyards were first planted in 1879 by pioneer John Drummond with imported cuttings from Chateaux Margaux and Lafite Rothschild. The Kunde family now oversee 2,000 contiguous acres, of which 700 acres are planted to more than twenty different varieties of wine grapes.
The first of the three Zinfandels is the Estate offering. This is 88% Zinfandel, with 8% Petite Syrah and 2% each of Grenache and Mourvedre. It spent 14 months in American oak, with 24% new wood. The "Century Vines" comes from the Shaw Vineyard. This 28 acre vineyard was planted in 1882. The vines are head trained. It has 95% Zinfandel and 5% Alicante Bouschet. It spends 15 months in American and European oak, with 14% new wood. The "Robusto" is a late harvest wine from the Shaw Vineyard. It is fermented using native yeast, and is aged for 17 months in a mix of American and Czech oak barrels, with 20% new. They also produce a Zinfandel Port, a non-vintage offering which spends three years aging in older American oak barrels.
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Steve Ledson is a fifth generation Sonoma wine grower. He was originally planning on using the 16,000 square foot French Normandy style castle that he was building as a family home. He decided it was better suited as a winery. Design started in 1989, with completion in 1993. The winery was founded in 1997. Inside, it features six separate tasting bars, a gift shop and a gourmet marketplace, while outside it has sculpted rose gardens, sprawling outdoor patios and impeccable grounds. There are 17 acres of vineyards on the estate grounds, and Steve has other vineyards in Sonoma, which is currently planted to 100+ year Old Vine Zinfandel, Anderson Valley and Mendocino County. The wines are sold only at the winery, in restaurants and to club members.
Ledson Winery produces quite a few Zinfandels. Area offerings are from Dry Creek Valley, Lodi, Madera and Redwood Valley. Single vineyard wines are made from various Russian River vineyards. These include "Olivet Lane", "Amy's Vineyard", "Bacigalupi", "Baldocci" and "Old Vine" which is from the Feeney Ranch.
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Henry and Diane Mayo got their start in 1984 when they started planting grape vines. In 1993 Henry started making his own wine in a barn. Mayo Family Winery now has two winemaking facilities in Glen Ellen. Their son, Jeffrey Mayo is the president of the winery after returning to Glen Ellen in 1995. Michel Berthoud has been the winemaker since 2004. They share three tasting rooms, and have one just for their wines.
Two of the Zinfandel offerings are from the "Ricci Vineyard" on Limerick Lane at the northern end of the Russian River AVA. It consists of 10 acres which were planted from 1960 to 1972. The vines are almost all head pruned. The "Old Vines" production is 1,100 cases. It is aged in French oak, with 25% new wood. The "Old Vines Reserve" selection begins in the vineyard, and continues through the winemaking process with longer aging. These came in recently at 15.5% and 15.8% alcohol. The "Barnstormer" Zinfandel is a blend from three vineyards in Sonoma Valley and Russian River Valley. The vines are an average of 65 years old. This also came in at 15.5%. The Zinfandel Port is also from "Ricci Vineyard" fruit. Aged for 11 months in French barrels, it has 18.5% alcohol.
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When he was only 9 years old Joel Peterson was tasting wine with the San Francisco Wine Sampling Club. The key word is "tasting" since his father would check the spittoon to verify that the amount poured was the amount expectorated. He later became a chemist, but wine was always in his future. In 1976 Joel made 327 cases of Dry Creek Zinfandel, which took first place in a prestigious San Francisco wine tasting. From that time on "No Wimpy Wines" was the rallying cry for a lot of Zinfandel aficionados. The winery went public in 1999, and in 2001 was purchased by Constellation Brands. They were wise enough to keep Joel at the helm!
Ravenswood has three levels of Zinfandel, which remains the prime focus of the winery. The "Vintner's Blend" is the entry level wine which can be found everywhere! For the cost, it is an excellent "Everyday" wine. The top level consists of the 10 "Vineyard Designates". There are a number of requirements for a vineyard to get on this list. Summed up, they are location, flavor, age and growers. Very few vineyards qualify for this level. Those wineries that don't make it to the top level, or barrels that don't meet the strict tasting requirements are used for the five "County Series". These are still excellent wines, whose flavor profiles are selected to show the terroir of Amador, Lodi, Mendocino, Napa or Sonoma. If they don't qualify for the County Level, they are "declassified" and used for the Vintner's Blend.
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In 1971 Joe and Emma Martin bought the 100 acre Behler Ranch Vineyard. After selling grapes to wineries for 8 years, Joe along with Lloyd Canton, decided to start a winery. The new winery was named after St. Francis of Assisi, the protector of the natural world. The monks of the Franciscan Order are also credited with bringing European grape cultivation to the new world. The new winery was completed in 1999, and the St. Francis Visitors Center in 2001. It has three tasting bars, gardens and views of the Sonoma Valley. The Director of Winemaking, Tom Mackey, has been with the winery for 21 years, overseeing a staff which includes winemaker Sally Johnson. The Visitor Center also features food and wine pairings.
There are two Zinfandels currently being produced. The "Old Vines Zinfandel " come from a number of vineyards which have vines ranging from 50 to over 100 years old. The field blend includes small amounts of Petite Syrah and Alicante Bouschet. It spends from 12 to 15 months in American oak. The "Reserve Zinfandel" comes from the Pagani Vineyard which was planted over 100 years ago. Small amounts of Alicante Bouschet are sprinkled through the vineyard. This wine is aged for 12 to 15 months in new American oak. It is bottled without fining, then kept for 4 to 8 months before being released.
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The land on which the Valley of the Moon Winery and Vineyards is located was once part of the vast 48,000-acre Agua Caliente Land Grant owned by General Mariano Vallejo. In 1876 a winery on this land was producing 50,000 gallons of wine and 2,000 gallons of brandy. In the latter part of the 19th century the winery was known as "Madrone Winery". In January of 1941, two San Franciscans, Enrico Parducci and Peter Domenici bought the property, which by this time was neglected, but extended over approximately 380 acres. From 1941 to 1956, Parducci and Domenici ran the winery and vineyards, renaming it "Valley of the Moon Winery". The Parducci family continued to run Valley of the Moon Winery from the mid- 1950s until March 1997 when the owners of neighboring Kenwood Vineyards purchased the business and property. Kenwood Vineyards and Valley of the Moon Winery were then purchased by Gary Heck, who also owns Korbell Champagne Cellars and Heck Estates. This is now a state of the art winery, with strong ties to the past, as shown in the restoration of the original stone walls and roof trusses.
One Zinfandel is a production of just under 8,000 cases. The primary vineyard, in the shadow of the Mayacamas Mountains, was planted in the 1940s. Winemaker Greg Winter adds some fruit from the Dry Creek Valley to add to the complexity and flavor. It spends 20 months in 80% French and 20% American oak. It is 100 % Zinfandel. The "Old Vine Zinfandel" is only available in the tasting room.
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