I too am excited to see some Dwarven wines here finally!
In for 2 - It looks like the kind of big zin I REALLY like. I’ll let y’all know as soon as it gets here, time to restock after the Christmas consumption.
As the founder of Castoro I can tell you this is one of my favorite wines from our Organic Whale Rock vineyard in Templeton. It is not the same as most Italian Primitivos, much richer and darker. The alcohol is high but that is the reality when getting the fruit to ripeness in this area. You won’t find it hot at all. Take the plunge and enjoy…
I had a 15.9 Opolo zin last night with italian seafood stew and it was fantastic.
Welcome, and thank you! I’ve heard other winemakers lament the difficulty of keeping the alcohol % down, but that in a good one you can’t taste it.
Can you say what other Cali Zins you like… and which of those this might be a bit like? Love to hear more of anything about how you make it. Happy new year!
New Mexico is not on the list of states shipped to. I called the Winery and they said yes they do ship to New Mexico. So what needs to happen to get my wine delivered to me in New Mexico?
I do like some Zin from Sobon but they are quite a bit different. Locally, Calcareous and Grey Wolf are two favorites. The Primitivo has less raspberry and more earth flavors than most Zin clones.
If you contact them they can help you. I am not sure why it is not available here. I’ll check on it.
I like to call this our Hobbit label. A friend and I were very much into the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. He had a woodworking biz called Oakenshield Woodworks. Unfortunately he passed away suddenly and this is our tribute to him and friends. You gotta to enjoy it while you can…
We had a bottle of Opolo Mountain Zin with some spicy pork banh mi a few nights ago and it worked well. It was the 2008 and tipped the scales at 16.7% according to the label. I can understand why some folks don’t like this style of zin, but everyone at our table enjoyed it.
Opolo is another winery I like. Very good friends of ours and a source of some of our grapes.
I didn’t see this particular wine on the website, whats the regular price for this dwarf-en wine?
Hey Niels…thanks for joining us and Happy New Year! BTW for those that are asking, if I’m not mistaken the wine sells for $23.95 a bottle at the winery.
in for one
Well said…long may your lum reek! 
Just wondering, why isn’t this wine on the winery web site? Or did I miss it:)
I want to take the plunge… but am concerned about the description that it is more earthy than most zins… can this be clarified? I hate wine that has that dirt flavoring!! But I love zins… 
we don’t always have all the wine on the website. Those are the wines currently available there. I like making many different wines (my wife says too many!) but it makes it interesting everytime you visit as you never know exactly what treats await…
Dirt no good - earth good! What I mean is the fruit is not the dominant character. It is there since it is Zin but you get some pepper and a pleasant loaminess (does that make sense?). I have not found a Zin lover that doesn’t fall for this wine!
Happy New Year to you too!
Yes - you are right about the price