Saturday Wine Tasting 9/27
September 27: Zinfandel
Come join us this Saturday for a fabulous afternoon of wine tasting at The San Francisco Wine Trading Company! Whether you're a wine connoisseur or just looking to have a good time, this event is perfect for you. Sample a variety of exquisite wines and mingle with fellow wine enthusiasts. Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity to expand your palate and enjoy some delicious wines. See you there!
2022 Old World Winery Ecstatic Consciousness $24.94
Old World Winery is a small, family run winery in Russian River Valley, Sonoma. It is led by Darek Trowbridge, who has over 20 years of experience in vineyard management. He focuses on traditional winemaking practices from organic, biodynamic, and dry-famed vineyards. He implements a hands-off, low intervention approach to winemaking incorporating nature as much as possible. He creates interesting blends like the Ecstatic Consciousness bottling, a field blend of Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot and Abouriou from 120-year-old-vines. Abouriou is a rare varietal indigenous to Southwest France and found in small quantities in California.
2022 Erggelet Brothers Red Table Wine $28.94
Erggelet Brothers is run by Julien and Sebastian Erggelet, two brothers originally from Germany. They recall being children sipping on their grandfather's leftover Riesling. Julien pursued a career in Medicine and Sebastian followed the path of Economics. But after time, they felt their true calling of farming and drinking wine. They came to California in 2014 with enough money for two months' rent and an old Subaru and started living their dream. Sebastian went to school for Enology and is the winemaker for Grgich Hills Estate. Their winery is solar powered, and they rely on gravity as much as possible. They are based out of Contra Costa County, an AVA recently approved in 2024, situated east of the San Pablo Bay. The blend is 55% Zinfandel, 17% Grenache, 17% Carignan, and 17% Mataro.
2023 Robert Biale Vineyards Zinfandel Party Line $27.94
During Prohibition, wineries had completely collapsed, yet Pietro Biale was on a mission to make wine. There wasn't enough money in wine, so Pietro had to take another job where tragically, he died, leaving his 13-year-old son, Aldo, to take over. Aldo learned how to make wine from his Uncle and would secretly sell his wine to friends and locals under the code name "Gallo Nero", selling the rest of the grapes to cooperatives. In 1991, Aldo's son, Robert, decided to create the family wine label. Although Aldo was retired at that point, he worked tirelessly with Robert to fulfill the family dream. This is 100% Zinfandel aged for nine months in French oak with 10% new.
2022 Green and Red Vineyard Zinfandel Chiles Canyon $32.94
Green and Red Vineyard started in 1968, during the times of anti-war protests, psychedelics and the summer of love. Jay Heminway and a group of friends from Berkeley started the California food and wine movement emphasizing good quality local ingredients. Jay headed to Napa Valley and "found Nirvana" along the Silverado trail. He stumbled upon century old vines and planted Zinfandel. The name was inspired by the red soils and the green serpentine vines running through. Jay passed away in 2019 leaving the winery in the hands of his daughter, who helped cork the bottles one by one for the first vintage of Green and Red in 1977. This is 100% Zinfandel from three terraced mountain vineyards in Chiles Canyon, Napa Valley. It is aged for 14 months in 70% American oak and 30% French.
2022 Ridge Zinfandel Pagani Ranch $44.94
Ridge's history goes back to 1885. The Monte Bello vineyard was planted in 1886 with the first vintage of Ridge released in 1892. The property became abandoned until the 1940's when William Short purchased the property. Paul Draper joined the project in 1969 implementing his hands off approach to winemaking and a focus on single vineyards. The 2022 Pagani Ranch is a blend of 82% Zinfandel, 9% Alicante Bouchet, 5% Petit Sirah, and 4% Mataro. The Pagani Ranch Vineyard is a series of rolling hills in Sonoma Valley run by the fourth generation of the Pagani family with vineyards first planted as far back as the 1890's. The climate here is cooler than Geyserville and Lytton Springs. It is aged for 14 months in American oak barrels with 15% new oak.
2020 Carlisle Winery Zinfandel Papera Ranch $59.94
Carlile Winery was started in 1998 by husband-and-wife Mike and Kendall Officer. The love of wine started when Mike was 19 years old and tasted a zip of a late harvest Riesling. He started studying wine and became a collector in college. After graduation, he spent three years sitting behind a desk pursuing software development but soon realized he wanted to be pursuing his passion. He started making Zinfandel in his kitchen with just one barrel per year. They moved to Sonoma to focus on their love for Zinfandel and Rhone varieties. This is their bottling from the Papera Ranch Vineyard, which was planted in 1934 in Russian River Valley. The soil is extremely deep allowing consistent vine development. This is 96% Zinfandel and 4% Carignan aged in a small percentage of new oak. Carlile Winery ceased production in 2024 after Mike, Kendall, and the winemaker Jay, wanted to retire.