Not long ago, when you discussed quality zinfandel producers there was often a reference to the 3-R’s: Ridge, Rosenblum, and Ravenswood.
As with all things, the only constant is change. With this change we have seen a next generation of exciting new zinfandel producers. One of these producers is Morgan-Twain Peterson. He is the son of Ravenswood founder, Joel Peterson.
Morgan essentially grew up at his father’s side, and received a wine education that would make many a UC Davis graduate envious. To round things out, he also worked harvests in Australia and at Chateau Lynch-Bages in Bordeaux.
Not bad for a kid who is also a Vassar grad and went to grad school at Columbia…
One of the values that Morgan shares with his father is the value of old vines from special sites. To this end, he has launched a label that focuses on grapes with this pedigree. Appropriately, he has named it the Bedrock Wine Company.
The old vineyards that Morgan receives fruit from invariably have very low yields. This translates into small production lots of very precious juice. Most of this wine is bottled as a vineyard designate, and is available only through the Bedrock mailing list.
Not uncommonly, some wine of very high quality doesn’t quite fit the vineyard flavor profile that the winemaker envisions. In turn, this wine may be blended with other, similar lots, and bottled as an XYZ County or California appellation.
Fortunately for us, Morgan produces an Old Vine Zinfandel that is available at Bacchus House. This wine is sourced from vines that average 80 years of age.
Interestingly, when you move in for a close up of vineyards of this age, you’ll find out that they are usually not 100% of any one varietal. At the time that these vineyards were established, the farmer would plant whatever plant material that he had available. Zinfandel may predominate, but there is often a hodge-podge of other grape varietals that are interspersed in the rows.
In Morgan’s hands, the end result is a refined wine of great balance, complexity, and length. It shows like a much more expensive wine, and is a metaphor of how we at Bacchus House seek to over deliver on quality to enhance your dining experience.