That was my pH at harvest, or at least that’s what the notes said at the time… who knows, maybe some juice caused my ink to run? 
I can’t remember that far back other than we had very good acid…
I know I had less acid in 08 - hence why it has a very prominant Raspberry nose.
One of my trademarks are wines with higher acid so that they complement food. These wines also come across as balanced.
I think both will hold up for several years. The 07 is still fresh and lively - and the 08 shows no real difference from when I released it a year ago.
I wouldn’t try aging these long term - they are wines that are truly meant to be enjoyed now. Higher alcohol makes me caution anyone thinking of doing that.
I’d say that you should still be able to enjoy both of them for the next 2 to 3 years.
Are the grapes organically grown?
OK, an honest, knowledgeable winemaker. No crap about high alcohol being good for longer ageing, unlike Napa BS artists. Brix is uder 25 at harvest too, which means at least alc’s not through the roof. Like Pedroncelli he’s trying to keep the Zins lively, but the weather is keeping he alcohol up. If you’re looking for Zin I reckon this one is likely better made than most, from listening to this guy… even if his pH stat might be a bit optimistic
My questiona:
Firstly, what can you do to reduce the alcohol in vineyard, to speed up phenolic ripeness without transitioning too far from acid to sugar in grape? Is that even possible wihtout ruinig the wine? What about Pruning canopy? Reducing clusters?
Second Question: Can you add acid / water after picking to the juice as some winemakers do to reduce the sugar content?
For either of these, you may choose not to for winemaking reasons. I’d love to hear how you do it!
I had an AV merlot or cab a couple of years ago and fell in love! It is hard to find though. Can someone tell me if this Zinfandel is similar to a merlot or pinot… or is it sweet?
Sounds Interesting - and now someone from Ohio. Make sure you put one of your fliers in the box. If I like your wine, you’ll be hearing from me in the form of orders 
Have a good day!
Hi Jon,
I visited your vineyard/house in September of 2009 with my wife and tour group. We bought a bottle of a bottle of your estate old vine, because it was the one we enjoyed most. I was wondering how these 2 stack up to the old vine.
Forgive me, for I have Zinned. Can’t pass on a small batch zin from a straight-up winemaker. In for one.
[How good is this deal?](http://bit.ly/fnXDz9" title="How good is this deal?)
Click the link above for full discount details, links, etc.
I luvs me some Zin. In for one.
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15 plus is common for Zinfandel and the wine usually can hold it. I like the pH. I think of 3.65 as the break off point between new world and old world style Zins. With the 2007 at well below 3.65 it should be more the old world style and the 2008 on the edge of new world. With both wines coming from the same vineyard and produced by the same winemaker, I think this would be a great purchase so you can experince the difference in pH and what it does to the style.
It’s not a certified vineyard, however the grower follows organic practices - he only uses elemental sulfur in the vineyard to control mildew and discs to control weeds - no other pesticides or herbacides are used.
Thank you very much for your summary - I would agree - ok, and I’m the maker
Both wines are very different; my assistant loves the 08 because of the juicy raspberry quality where I like the 07 because it’s a little bit more serious and goes better with food.
Great questions - thanks for asking… Here are some long responses…
Re Q1 - My grower does drop a lot of fruit. I’d say the answer is that you can’t really do much more out there. Zin is uneven and the clusters are uneven so you end up with some berries that are highly concentrated and some that are still a little green. I do my best to pick when there is consistent ripeness; but I’m also picking based on Taste / Brix & TA/pH (in that order) - short of hand selecting each cluster which isn’t practical, there’s not much more I can do from a pre-fermentation perspective. As for canopy mgmt - he can leave more fruit on, but then I end up with a very light style wine in both complexity and color. If he prunes too much, I end up with a more concentrated grape higher in sugar.
Q2 - Actually I did! The practice is known as saignée - it’s a fancy French way of saying that I removed some of the grape juice that is high in sugar just after crushing (usually w/in 6 to 8 hours) and then replace that volume with water that has been adjusted w/ acid. The goal especially for the 07 wasn’t to “add” more acid - but you do need to make sure that your water has been adjusted to be at the same acid level. The result is less alcohol - and I can use the juice to make a rose. Yeast choices are also a factor and I’m starting to look for another yeast that doesn’t convert as good as the one I’m currently using. This conversion efficiency is another factor that can create a suprise of high alcohol, especially when you think that your beginning brix numbers are w/in the range to create a 14.5 wine.
Very different animal than either grape - pinot or merlot. Zinfandel has more of a raspberry / black pepper quality - the merlot will likely exibit black cherry. For selfish reason’s, I’d love for you to try my wines - but if you are looking for a great Alexander Valley Merlot, I would suggest you try Stryker Sonoma. The winemaker is a friend of mine - she makes great wines and their Merlot is delicious.
Thanks!!! Will do!!! Cheers!
FANTASTIC! Very different wines - I would have tasted you on this vineyard when you came out. In fact, you have probably tried the 07 vintage of the AV.
If I had only two words to use to describe either wine - the AV Zin is “sweet” and the Old Vine Zin in front of our house is “savory”.
The Old Vine shows off spice, white pepper, cardamom, cloves, bay. BTW - We lost ALL of the grapes last year do to a heat spike, so we only have a few cases left to sell of the 09 vintage.
The AV that I’m selling on winewoot could be described having a nice raspberry quality with cedar, black pepper, cinnamom.
Well, I must say that this morning I was on the fence about whether or not I should pick up this wine, but the winemaker’s knowledge and conveyed love of winemaking has convinced me to buy this one.
Thanks for all the great comments on the board today and I look forward to giving this a try in a few weeks!
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Thanks! I hope that you’ll be inclined to “Zin” more after you try them!
Danke!