In the 1970s, when the winery was founded, Zinfandel was a zesty, spicy, fruity wine that paired well with what then was just starting to be called “California Cuisine”. One could find many Zinfandels that were restrained and balanced with lovely bright fruit and a type of spiciness that is unique to the variety. But as time went on, more and more producers chose to make very extracted, high-alcohol, jammy expressions of the variety. That's fine if that is your thing, but it's not the style of wine we like to make and drink, and we especially feel that those highly extracted, high-alcohol wines don't go with food. “Jam is for toast – not for wine!” is our motto!  

This is a wine that should pair well with a wide variety of foods and will especially do well with preparations that have more herbs and spices. You can't go wrong by sticking to the perceived Italian roots of the wine and having a great red sauce pasta with it.  

We say “perceived” Italian roots, because the grape we call Zinfandel, and the grape Italians call Primitivo, are both Crljenak Kaštelanski, which comes from Croatia. It is thought that the Romans brought this variety from Croatia to Puglia, Italy. The vines first brought to the US in the 1820s were from what is now Croatia, but was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The name Zinfandel came from the Hungarian name for Crljenak Kaštelanski, Tzinifándli.