" We don't sell the wine without touching the vine "
Ridge Zinfandel Guadagni 2018
Our Price: $60.00 $50.00
6 bottles with free shipping for: $300.00
12 bottles with free shipping for: $540.00
6 bottles with free shipping for: $300.00
12 bottles with free shipping for: $540.00
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| Country: | United States |
| Regions: | California California (Sonoma County) |
| Winery: | Ridge Vineyards |
| Grape Type: | Zinfandel |
| Organic: | Yes |
| Vintage: | 2018 |
| Bottle Size: | 750 ml |
Product Description
Ridge Zinfandel Guadagni is made from 80% Zinfandel, 20% Petite Sirah.
Jammy nose of blackberry and cassis with notes of pepper, mint and tobacco. Full-bodied on the palate with well coated tannins, black cherry fruit and a long, layered finish.
Owned and farmed by the Guadagni family for over fifty years, this vineyard grows in the rocky soils at the northern edge of the Dry Creek Valley. Planted primarily to zinfandel; petite sirah from an adjacent parcel was added this year for color and depth. We limited pump-overs to once daily and pressed after eight days of fermentation as color and tannin were plentiful.
Winery: Ridge Vineyards
In 1962, Ridge made its first Monte Bello, and two years later its first zinfandel. Since that time, Ridge has championed single-vineyard winemaking, searching California for those rare and exceptional vineyards where climate, soil, and variety are ideally matched.
Ridge Vineyards: Property in the 1800’s
The history of Ridge Vineyards begins in 1885, when Osea Perrone, a doctor who became a prominent member of San Francisco’s Italian community, bought 180 acres near the top of Monte Bello Ridge. He terraced the slopes and planted vineyards; using native limestone, he constructed the Monte Bello Winery, producing the first vintage under that name in 1892. This unique cellar, built into the mountainside on three levels, is Ridge’s production facility. At 2600′, it is surrounded by the “upper vineyard”, now referred to as the Perrone Ranch.
The 1940’s: Restart of the Winery
In the 1940s, William Short, a theologian, bought the abandoned winery and vineyard just below the Perrone property; he replanted several parcels to cabernet sauvignon in the late 1940s. From these vines — now the “middle vineyard” and referred to as the Torre Ranch — new owners Dave Bennion, Hew Crane, Charlie Rosen, and Howard Ziedler, all Stanford Research Institute engineers, made a quarter-barrel of “estate” cabernet. That Monte Bello Cabernet was among California’s finest wines of the era. Its quality and distinctive character, and the wines produced from these same vines in 1960 and ’61, convinced the partners to re-bond the winery in time for the 1962 vintage. Dave Bennion left his role at S.R.I. to oversee winemaking duties full time.
The Zinfandel Introduction
The first zinfandel was made in 1964, from a small nineteenth-century vineyard farther down the ridge. This was followed in 1966 by the first Geyserville zinfandel. The founding families reclaimed the Monte Bello terraces, increasing vineyard size from fifteen to forty-five acres. Working on weekends, they made wines of regional character and unprecedented intensity.
A New Era of Winemaking
By 1968, production had increased to just under three thousand cases per year, and in 1969, Paul Draper joined the partnership. A Stanford graduate in philosophy—recently returned from setting up a winery in Chile’s coast range—he was a practical winemaker, not an enologist. His knowledge of fine wines and traditional methods complemented the straightforward “hands off” approach pioneered at Ridge. Under his guidance the old Perrone winery (acquired the previous year) was restored, the finest vineyard lands leased or purchased, the consistent quality and international reputation of the wines established. Cabernet and Zinfandel account for most of the production; Syrah, Grenache, Carignane, and Petite Sirah constitute a small percentage. Known primarily for its red wines, Ridge has also made limited amounts of chardonnay since 1962.
Recent History and Expansion of Operations
Lytton Springs, in Sonoma County, became part of the Ridge estate in 1991. A quarter century’s experience with this vineyard had convinced us that it was an exceptional piece of ground. Forty consecutive vintages of Geyserville attest to yet another stunning combination of location and varietals. Though born in the early sixties to the post-Prohibition world of modern California winemaking, Ridge relies on nature and tradition rather than technology. Our pre-industrial approach is straightforward: find intense, flavorful grapes; intrude upon the process only when necessary; draw the fruit’s distinctive character and richness into the wine.
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