We had a very nice tasting at the Ravenswood Winery (http://www.ravenswoodwinery.com/#), which is famous for its Zinfandels. It is located on Gehricke Rd., on the northeast side of the town of Sonoma. This tasting was one of the nicest because of the wide range of Zinfandels and the pleasant interaction we had with the tasting room manager.
Ravenswood was started in 1976 by Joel Peterson, a microbiologist at Sonoma Valley Hospital. Winemaking was his passion and the hospital employment provided an income. His winemaking locations changed five times before he permanently established the winery at its current location in 1991.
His passion has been Zinfandels, and Ravenswood produces an amazing variety of them. Their tasting list had 14 Zinfandels from 9 appellations in 5 counties.
In 2001, Peterson sold Ravenswood to the huge firm - Constellation Brands. However, he stayed on as head winemaker. He now focuses on Ravenswood’s single-vineyard zinfandels.
Peterson picked the name of the winery for two reasons:
1. In 1976, when he was picking grapes for his first wines, a thunderstorm was threatening. As he was rushing to get the grapes picked for the first time, three ravens watched over him.
2. He was an opera buff and the character Lord Ravenswood from a Donizetti opera reminded Peterson of his new winemaking experience. In the opera, Lord Ravenswood sinks to his death in quicksand. Peterson felt he was going through a similar experience as a new winemaker.
In February of this year, he was inducted into the Vintner Hall of Fame. For a video interview with him and a tasting with him, see:
The winery logo features three ravens in a circle. The winery’s motto is “No Wimpy Wines!”
The tasting room, which is open 10 am to 4:30 pm, was decorated in light colors and was very pleasant. When we stepped up to the tasting bar, we were served by Kristin Wastell, the manager of the visitor center. She was very knowledgeable, upbeat, and helpful. She was one of the nicest people we met at the 23 wineries we visited.
The tasting room offers two types of tastings:
1. $10 for their County wines
2. $15 for their Vineyard Designate wines
The Tasting Room
Kristin
We tasted seven red wines, of which six were Zins. They ranged in taste from excellent to nice. I have listed below with each wine both the retail and the club price per bottle:
County Zinfandels
- 2009 Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel, 77% Zinfandel, 23% Petite Sirah - nice - $15/$12. The microclimate of Lodi, in the Central Valley east of Sonoma and Napa, is ideal for Zinfandel, with its hot days and cool nights.
- 2009 Napa Valley Old Vine Zinfandel, 76% Zinfandel, 24% Petite Sirah - very nice - $15/$12
-2008 Sonoma County Old Vine Zinfandel, 77% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, 8% Syrah, 5% Carignane - very nice -$18.50/$14.80
Single Vineyard Zinfandels
- 2009 Alexander Valley Big River Zinfandel, 100% Zinfandel - Excellent - $35/$28
- 2009 Dry Creek Valley Teldeschi Zinfandel, 75% Zinfandel, 20% Petite Sirah, 3% Carignane, 2% Alicante Bouschet - very nice - $35/$28
Bordeaux & St. Emilion Varietals
- 2007 Sonoma Mountain Pickberry, 58% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon - Excellent - $50/$40
Dessert Wines
- 2009 Zinfandel Suite, half bottle - excellent - $30/$24 (Only 1.5 barrels of this wine were produced.)
Kristin described Ravenswood founder and current winemaker Joel Peterson as “beloved.” From everything I have read about him, he sounds like a nice, one-of-a-kind individual.
Kristin said that Ravenswood’s “Old Vine” wines are from vines that are 45 to 100 years old. She also mentioned than Zinfandel grapes ripen earlier than others because they have thin skins.
After leaving Ravenswood, we stopped a short distance away on Gehricke Rd. where I took pictures of some great old vines with thick trunks.
An Old Vine on Gehricke Road
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