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Cortina Zinfandel

Cortina Zinfandel Wine Details
Price: $33.00 per bottle

Description: In 1957, our family purchased 56 acres in the heart of Dry Creek Valley. Since the early 1900s, our fathers had purchased fruit from growers in this Valley and recognized the area's great potential for Zinfandel. Here, late afternoon coastal cooling follows long hours of sunshine and enables the fruit to mature slowly during the summer months. Cortina, the dominant soil type of our vineyard, is a gravelly loam that contributes to Dry Creek Valley's reputation as one of the finest places in the world to grow Zinfandel.

Varietal Definition
Zinfandel:
Zinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California wine vineyards. DNA fingerprinting revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kaštelanski, and also the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in the 'heel' of Italy. It is typically made into a robust red wine. Its taste depends on the ripeness of the grapes from which it is made. Red berry fruits like raspberry predominate in wines from cooler areas such as the Napa Valley, whereas blackberry, anise and pepper notes are more common in wines made in warmer areas such as Sonoma County. Many Zinfandels come from head pruned ‘Old Vines’. ‘Old Vine’ is generally understood to mean a vine that is more than 50 years old and that produces less than three tons per acre. ‘Head Pruning’ is an old European style of pruning that trains the vine into the shape of a goblet. It requires no wires or other complex trellis systems. Head pruning spreads the fruit uniformly along the vine and allows light penetration.In the USA a semi-sweet Rosé (blush-style) wine called ‘White Zinfandel’ has achieved widespread popularity. In fact, this popularity has so outstripped all other forms that many fans think there is actually a grape called “White Zinfandel” (there isn’t)!


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