2018 Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley • St. Francis Winery & Vineyards

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Double-Gold | SF Chronicle Wine Competition

Tasting Notes

Full-bodied and rich, this is a classic Zinfandel offering up deep, abundant aromas of dark, wild berries and warm spicy notes of cinnamon and clove. Compelling flavors of blueberry pie, wild blackberry preserves and vanilla bean linger on the palate. This lush wine finishes with a velvety mouthfeel.

Vintage Notes

2018 provided an ideal climate allowing time for the grapes to ripen to their optimum flavor structure. The year presented a fairly mild growing season with few heat spikes, inspiring winemakers to push harvest back a few weeks. This longer time on the vine was great for grapes and the mild temperatures kept the fruit from over-ripening. More than an inch of rain fell in early October in many locations, but there was little impact on the quality of the fruit. 2018 could be remembered as one of the longest and most desirable seasons in years, producing exceptional quality grapes throughout Sonoma County.

Vineyard Notes

Winemaker Katie Madigan sourced Zinfandel from three different vineyards in Dry Creek Valley, a region renowned for producing intense, concentrated Zinfandel. The wine is blended with Dry Creek Petite Sirah for additional structure and complexity.

Winemaker Notes

This wine showcases the best of Dry Creek Valley, from the valley floor to hilltop vineyards. The well-drained soils and fog patterns from the Pacific Ocean create perfect growing conditions for Zinfandel, resulting in smaller crops with highly concentrated, intense fruit. The grapes undergo a cold soak before fermentation to extract optimal color and aroma. After primary fermentation, the wine is pumped into French oak barrels, where it undergoes natural malolactic fermentation, followed by 18 months of aging in French oak barrels, 40% new.