Variety: Zinfandel

Vineyard: Ricetti

AVA: Redwood Valley, CA

Farming: Organic, Dry Farmed

Harvest Date: 31 August 2024

Bottling Date: 20 March 2025

Alc: 12%

Cases: 120

In 2024, we saw a return to the hot and dry harvests of the last handful of years.  While I was able to hang Ricetti’s Zinfandel into late September in 2023 (a much cooler year), in 2024 we called the pick for the last day of August – a full 3 weeks earlier, which is indicative of how much more quickly harvest progressed in 2024 as compared to 2023.

As is often the case with Zinfandel, some of the berries were sun dried and beginning to raisin, while others were still slightly pink and tart.  For me, this is the perfect balance of ripe sugar with lean acidity, to maintain freshness and lift in the wine.

Once picked, the Zinfandel was fully foot crushed, and left to ferment in tank 100% whole cluster.  The fruit spent 3 days quietly soaking, fermentation kicked off on the fourth day, and by the end of the week the Zinfandel was nearing dryness.  We pressed while still sweet, after 8 days on skins.  The wine was allowed to complete primary fermentation in tank, and once sugar dry it was put down to neutral oak barrels to undergo secondary fermentation and rest for the winter.

In late March, all the barriques of Zinfandel were racked to tank for bottling.

Indigenous yeast fermentation.  25 ppm SO2 at bottling, no other additions, unfined and unfiltered.