Haraszthy Family Cellars Bearitage Old Vine Zinfandel 2014
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
This wine is an excellent complement to grilled meats, fish, or chicken dishes.
Haraszthy Family Cellars was founded in 2008 by Val & Vickie Haraszthy. Val is a 5th generation California winemaker and the great-great grandson of General Mariano Vallejo and Agoston Haraszthy.
General Vallejo founded Sonoma in 1835 - the last Mexican Commandant of Northern California prior to statehood. On June 14, 1846 he was arrested at his home by the bear flaggers – a disgruntled band of settlers revolting against Mexican land policies. The rebels produced a crudely drawn bear flag replacing the Mexican flag and proclaiming California a sovereign republic.
Agoston Haraszthy founded Buena Vista Winery in 1857, considered the first commercial winery in California. He traveled throughout Europe in 1861 and collected hundreds of different varietal grape cuttings which gave rise to the California wine industry.
Bearitage wines are all produced from grapes grown in Lodi, California. They are well made, delicious and offer an extremely good value for the price. Val makes Old Vine Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Blend, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio.
Unapologetically bold, spice-driven and jammy, Zinfandel has secured its title as the darling of California vintners by adapting well to the state's diverse microclimates and landscapes. Born in Croatia, it later made its way to southern Italy where it was named Primitivo. Fortunately, the imperial nursery of Vienna catalogued specimens of the vine, and it later made its way to New England in 1829. Parading the true American spirit, Zinfandel found a new home in California during the Gold Rush of 1849. Somm Secret—California's ancient vines of Zinfandel are those that survived the neglect of Prohibition; today these vines produce the most concentrated, ethereal and complex examples.
Positioned between the San Francisco Bay and the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the Lodi appellation, while relatively far inland, is able to maintain a classic Mediterranean climate featuring warm, sunny days and cool evenings. This is because the appellation is uniquely situated at the end of the Sacramento River Delta, which brings chilly, afternoon “delta breezes” to the area during the growing season.
Lodi is a premier source of 100+ year old ancient Zinfandel vineyards—some dating back as far as 1888! With low yields of small berries, these heritage vines produce complex and bold wines, concentrated in rich and voluptuous, dark fruit.
But Lodi doesn’t just produce Zinfandel; in fact, the appellation produces high quality wines from over 100 different grape varieties. Among them are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc as well as some of California's more rare and unique grapes. Lodi is recognized as an ideal spot for growing Spanish varieties like Albarino and Tempranillo, Portugese varieties—namely Touriga Nacional—as well as many German, Italian and French varieties.
Soil types vary widely among Lodi’s seven sub-appellations (Cosumnes River, Alta Mesa, Deer Creek Hills, Borden Ranch, Jahant, Clements Hills and Mokelumne River). The eastern hills are clay-based and rocky and in the west, along the Mokelumne and Cosumnes Rivers, sandy and mineral-heavy soils support the majority of Lodi’s century-old own-rooted Zinfandel vineyards. Unique to Lodi are pink Rocklin-Jahant loam soils, mainly found in the Jahant sub-appellation.