From Vine to Bottle
Zinfandel
Zinfandel is the only true American grape - like all Vitis vinifera wine grapes, it's not native to this country (it's of Croatian origin), but nowhere else has it made world-class wine, and only America has truly embraced it as its own. And nowhere else in America are conditions better suited to producing superior Zinfandel than Pezzi King's home: the Dry Creek Valley.
The grape is thin-skinned and late-ripening, with compact clusters. It needs warmth and a long growing season to fully ripen, yet a climate too hot leads to raisiny, overripe fruit. On Dry Creek's steep hillsides where the Pezzi King Estate is situated, cool nighttime temperatures and temperate ocean breezes keep the grapes in ideal balance.
Once the grapes are harvested, they are cold crushed, destemmed, and undergo a "cold soak", which extracts color and flavor before fermentation begins while retaining the grape's freshness. After fermentation, the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in stainless steel tanks before being aged in French and American oak for up to eighteen months.
Pezzi King produces three Zinfandels that are available nationwide: Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley Old Vines Zinfandel and our Estate Zinfandel, made from a composite of some of the Valley's best vineyards. Small lots of vineyard designated Zinfandel and an estate-bottled Reserve Zinfandel are available online or through our retail office.
Cabernet Sauvignon
As if inspired by the beauty of the red soil and expansive vistas from the hillside where it is grown, Pezzi King's Cabernet takes on a grace and an elegance coupled with an underlying earthiness.
Following Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon is Dry Creek Valley's most prominent grape. The gravelly soils of the Valley are reminiscent of Bordeaux's Left bank. Like Zinfandel, Cabernet is late-ripening, but its small berries and thick skins provide tannins for structure and ageability.
Once the grapes are picked and crushed, the wine undergoes a cold soak and an extended maceration to fully extract the flavor and tannins. The wine is fermented, undergoes malolactic fermentation, and then is aged in mostly French oak, with some American oak for flavor nuances, for twelve to twenty-four months. Before bottling, small amounts of other Bordeaux varietals (Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot) are blended in to provide depth and complexity.
Pezzi King produces two Cabernet Sauvignons, its flagship Dry Creek Valley Estate Cabernet and its Sonoma County Cabernet, sourced primarily from prestigious Dry Creek and Alexander Valley vineyards.
Merlot
Ah, Merlot, the much-maligned grape. Can we blame it for being so adaptable that it's planted in many locations where it shouldn't be, resulting in a sea of soft, flabby wine? No, we shouldn't, because when sited correctly and treated with care in the vineyard and the winery, it can make some of the world's greatest and most expensive wines.
Pezzi King Vineyards produces only one Merlot, "Susie's Reserve" from Sonoma County, named after owner Jim Rowe, Sr.'s daughter Susan. Like Susan, Pezzi King's wines are of superior quality.
Merlot, like Cabernet Sauvignon, is widely grown in Bordeaux and it shares many of the same characteristics. It ripens a bit earlier, however, and is slightly softer and less tannic. In the vineyard, it prefers slightly cooler air temperatures and soils. To achieve maximum complexity and depth of flavor, Pezzi King sources from three vineyards in the Alexander, Knights, and Dry Creek Valleys.
While in the winery, the grapes undergo extended maceration to draw out the full ripe fruit inherent in Merlot. The maximum amount of ripe tannins are extracted to give the wine richness and structure. The wine is aged for approximately eighteen months in a combination of new and used French and American oak. Before bottling, small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are blended in for complexity.
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is the world's best-known and most popular white wine grape perhaps because it is so versatile in flavor and relatively easy to grow. An early-ripening grape, it thrives in cooler climates that slow its ripening enough to fully develop the grape's flavors. Depending on the climate and the winemaking style, these flavors can range from green apple, grapefruit and pear in addition to a more tropical apricot and mango.
Pezzi King Vineyards sources its Chardonnay grapes from the Russian River Valley and the wine is carefully crafted to allow full expression of the Russian River terroir. The older vines provide concentrated flavor and depth. Pezzi King's winemaker works with growers overseeing viticultural practices and determining the date to harvest. Each block individually picked at the peak of ripeness. The fruit is handpicked and sorted. The whole cluster fruit is gently pressed, only free run juice is barrel fermented naturally using indigenous yeasts supplying additional complexity and adding weight to the palate.
Chardonnay shows an affinity to judicious oak aging, which contributes spicy/toasty flavors, and malolactic fermentation, which introduces a creamy butteriness, but not too much. Pezzi King uses medium-toast French barrels, approximately 40 percent are new. The wine undergoes full malolactic fermentation before barrel aging on its lees the entire time. (Lees act as anti-oxidant and contribute nutty flavor and round texture).
Pezzi King Vineyards produces Russian River Chardonnay which is sourced from the prestigious Green Pasture and Bacigalupi Vineyards.
Sauvignon Blanc
Is there a better wine for a warm summer day than a crisp Sauvignon Blanc? If there is, we're not aware of it. The wine's crisp citrus and passionfruit flavors, its brisk acidity and tangy mouthfeel make it a refreshing dry wine, and an excellent match with most seafood. The wine is often aged in stainless steel tanks to preserve its crisp fruit flavor, but subtle barrel aging can add complexity, richness, and weight.
Pezzi King selects its Sauvignon Blanc grapes from cool vineyards in the Alexander Valley and Mendocino County, and then ferments part of the wine in tanks and part in barrels - a combination that preserves the wine's citrus notes while adding tropical flavors. The wine is then aged in neutral oak barrels, which impart only enough flavor to add a layer of complexity. Pezzi King Vineyards produces its North Coast Sauvignon Blanc for national distribution; limited quantities of the "Jane's Reserve" can be purchased through direct sales.
