Deep red color. Beautiful aromas of black fruit, such as cassis and blackberries. Full, concentrated flavor, with an appealing freshness. Lush notes of plums, currants, blackberries, and rosehip. The finish has light oak with a sweet spiciness.

Seghesio Zinfandel Sonoma County

Classification: AVA Sonoma County

Color: Powerful red wine

Country: United States

Region: California, Sonoma County

Producer: Seghesio Family Vineyards, Healdsburg

Grape varieties: zinfandel

Winemaking: The grapes for this wine come from the cool Dry Creek Valley and the warmer Alexander Valley. In the vineyard, a strict selection already takes place, only healthy and ripe grapes are hand-picked. Fermentation takes place in steel tanks for 10 days, during which the wine is regularly pumped over the skins for extra flavor and color. Afterwards, the wine matures on average 1 year in barrels made of French (75%) and American oak (25%). Each year, about 30% of these barrels are renewed.

Producer information: In 1895, Italian immigrants Edoardo Seghesio and his wife Angela settled from Piedmont in California in the hamlet of Chianti in Alexander Valley, part of Sonoma County. They bought 4 hectares of vineyard there and in 1902 a winery was built. The vineyard received the obvious name: Home Ranch. Currently, the Home Ranch vineyard covers more than 50 ha, in addition to another 110 ha owned in Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley and in Dry Creek Valley. A total of 7 plots, located on different soils in climatically different areas. In addition to Home Ranch, they also own Chianti Station in Alexander Valley (with the oldest sangiovese planting in the US from 1910), River Road/Ranch (1942), Chen’s Vineyard (1957) in Dry Creek Valley, Lone Oak (1960) in Alexander Valley, Keyhole Ranch (1962) and the recently purchased Montafi vineyard (2014), both in Russian River. Furthermore, Seghesio has been buying grapes for years from old vineyards from various ‘family grape growers’. Today, the estate is run by the 4th and 5th generation Seghesio. Ted Seghesio handed over the winemaker’s baton to Andy Robinson in 2015. Jim Neumiller is doing the same and son Ned is now responsible for the vineyards. Seghesio works sustainably and in the vineyard uses cover crops, sophisticated energy (solar panels) and water management, and has been taking good care of the (Mexican) staff in their own Hacienda for years. Seghesio’s Zinfandel is considered one of the best in Sonoma Valley. This is thanks to the very old vines, an extremely low yield per hectare, a rigorous selection of healthy grapes upon arrival in the cellar, and the most modern equipment for winemaking. Seghesio specializes in Italian varieties such as vermentino, barbera, sangiovese, works with exciting field blends based on zinfandel with some old carignane, petite sirah, grenache etc., and has also recently added a chardonnay.

Area data: Sonoma County, north of San Francisco, has a very diverse soil. About 25,000 hectares are planted with a large number of different grape varieties. The area features mountain ridges and several valleys, three of which are mentioned above. The AVA (American Viticultural Area) Sonoma County stretches from the Pacific Coast in the west to the Mayacamas Mountains in the east and contains within its borders more than 425 wineries and 18 AVAs, including, for example, Alexander Valley (5,847 ha), Dry Creek Valley (3,259 ha), Russian River Valley (5,623 ha), Sonoma Valley (2,252 ha), Rockpile (77 ha), Chalk Hill (603 ha), and Carneros (2,622 ha). If a producer blends grapes from several of these AVAs in a wine, they may use the AVA Sonoma County designation. Influenced by the Pacific Ocean and the fog in the valley from San Pablo Bay, the climate is moderate. In various places, the morning fog manages to penetrate the area. In the south it is cool, and the temperature rises further north. The Mayacamas Mountains in the east provide shelter for the northern part. It is difficult to describe the character of Sonoma County wines in general; too much depends on the grape, location, and winery.

Serve with: With spicy grilled red meat, game, stews, spicy, hard, and blue-veined cheeses.

Serving temperature: 16 to 18ºC

Other information: The pride of Seghesio is the authentic Zinfandel vines, which are among the oldest in California. The Zinfandel grape was long considered a unique grape variety of California. For a long time, there was uncertainty about its origin, with primitivo, crljenak, dobricic, and plavac mali from Croatia being mentioned. Recent research using DNA technology at the University of California, Davis, has put an end to all uncertainty: Zinfandel and crljenak (the oldest known name: tribidrag) are identical.