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Gravity Hills Zinfandel(2002)
- Winery:
- Gravity Hills
- Varietal:
- Zinfandel
- Region:
- USA > California > San Luis Obispo > Paso Robles
- Type:
- Red Wine
- User Tags:
- spices, pepper, spice
After our vineyard manager, Manuel, took a corner too fast and rolled his tractor all the way to the bottom of this slope, he insisted we cut a ledge half-way down, so the next tractor wouldn’t have so far to fall.
Zinfandel – 1, Tractor – 0.
You’ve got to watch this sucker. It does just about everything to cause trouble except throw spitballs. It grows a jungle of leaves when it’s supposed to be making grapes. It turns out mixed clusters of ripe and unripe grapes, or ripens too soon and turns them into raisins. Its bunches tend to rot if they get wet and don’t dry out.
Traditional read more...planters knew how to keep it in line. Zin responds best to good old-fashioned discipline. So, instead of on nice, flat terraces, we plant it right on the hillside, where it has to work for its water and nutrients. Rather than trellised in rows right next to its buddies, our vines have to stand alone, a method known as headtraining. It provides the vine with air and sunlight and keeps it from getting too big for its britches.
Of course farming on a tilt and headtraining are a lot more work than zipping down a row. And there aren’t a lot of Sherpas for hire in the Paso area. Especially since they heard about the tumbling tractor.
But it all results in a delightful wine with elegance and complexity that’s lacking in some of the super-ripe, alcoholic Zins from the area. Sniff the exuberant bouquet of raspberries, blackberries, cinnamon and ginger. Feel the ample roundness in your mouth, with layers of fruit, spice and oak continually unfolding. Savor the long, balanced finish.
Pasta, osso bucco, pan roasted chicken, beef or lamb stew, duck, red meat, Chinese food, Thai food… go for it! A very versatile wine!
After our vineyard manager, Manuel, took a corner too fast and rolled his tractor all the way to the bottom of this slope, he insisted we cut a ledge half-way down, so the next tractor wouldn’t have so far to fall. (hide)
Zinfandel – 1, Tractor – 0.
You’ve got to watch this sucker. It does just about everything to cause trouble except throw spitballs. It grows a jungle of leaves when it’s supposed to be making grapes. It turns out mixed clusters of ripe and unripe grapes, or ripens too soon and turns them into raisins. Its bunches tend to rot if they get wet and don’t dry out.
Traditional read more...planters knew how to keep it in line. Zin responds best to good old-fashioned discipline. So, instead of on nice, flat terraces, we plant it right on the hillside, where it has to work for its water and nutrients. Rather than trellised in rows right next to its buddies, our vines have to stand alone, a method known as headtraining. It provides the vine with air and sunlight and keeps it from getting too big for its britches.
Of course farming on a tilt and headtraining are a lot more work than zipping down a row. And there aren’t a lot of Sherpas for hire in the Paso area. Especially since they heard about the tumbling tractor.
But it all results in a delightful wine with elegance and complexity that’s lacking in some of the super-ripe, alcoholic Zins from the area. Sniff the exuberant bouquet of raspberries, blackberries, cinnamon and ginger. Feel the ample roundness in your mouth, with layers of fruit, spice and oak continually unfolding. Savor the long, balanced finish.
Pasta, osso bucco, pan roasted chicken, beef or lamb stew, duck, red meat, Chinese food, Thai food… go for it! A very versatile wine!
After our vineyard manager, Manuel, took a corner too fast and rolled his tractor all the way to the bottom of this slope, he insisted we cut a ledge half-way down, so the next tractor wouldn’t have so far to fall. (hide)
