2022 Windy Flats Zinfandel

The Windy Flats Vineyard is in Wooden Valley carved into the cliffs on the western side of the Vaca mountains. The Zinfandel comes from a section just below the highest point of the vineyard. Growing conditions were challenging in 2022, again with less than normal rainfall. The canopy held up well through the season and shrivel began slowly but when the hot spells began in mid-August, we had to watch it carefully. The fruit came in on September 1, (6.12 tons at 25.6 Brix) and soaked up to 28.8 Brix. After a short cold soak using Gaia yeast, we inoculated with D254 yeast and kept the fermentation temperature moderate – in the mid to low 80s. It had some trouble going dry, but we pressed off on September 19 and put it to barrel 2 days later. 2022 turned out to be a very expressive Zinfandel, ripe and fruity, with a bit of attitude. The 2022 Windy Flats Zinfandel offers aromas of blackberry, black licorice and hints of orange marmalade. The palate is balanced, and still has tannin showing under the ripe plum and crunchy cranberry fruit, with some white pepper and pie crust. This wine is very fun to drink while young and fresh!