Cline Cellars Lodi Zinfandel

Description

Cline Cellars Lodi Zinfandel is the entry point red wine in the Cline Cellars range and is a classic Californian Zinfandel with a balance of dark fruits and hints of toasty, vanilla-y oak. The town of Lodi is located in San Joaquin County, California, in the northern portion of California’s Central Valley – it is sometimes known as the “Zinfandel Capital of the World”. Alongside the Cline North Coast Viognier, this now forms part of Cline’s “Appellation Series”.

In 1982, on leaving university, Fred Cline returned to his hometown Oakley, Contra Costa County (equidistant between Sacramento and San Francisco) to found the company that would become Cline Cellars. There he started producing wines and restoring ancient vines. Today, Zinfandel, Carignane and Mourvèdre produced from these vines are some of the most unique and historic wines made in California – the coming together of the climate, the soil and the landscape are the epitome of Oakley terroir. In 1991, the winery relocated from Oakley to the Carneros region of Sonoma County on a historic 350-acre estate with new vineyards and facilities.

The grapes for Cline Cellars Lodi Zinfandel are sourced from a selection of fourteen, proud, earnest and independent growers from across the Lodi AVA.  There are 7 distinct AVAs in Lodi – the grapes for this wine almost all come from the Mokelumne River AVA. Vineyards include the Fowler Ranch dating back to 1942, Hubert and Harney vineyards planted in 1962 and the Alpine vineyard planted in 1968.

The grapes for the Cline Cellars Lodi Zinfandel are de-stemmed and lightly crushed to preserve the fruit and limit tannin extraction. After fermentation the wine is racked two or three times before being settled to 35% new French oak barrels, giving elegant structure without sacrificing bright fruit flavours. Medium toast barrels were used, contributing a delicate vanilla character.

Cline Cellars Lodi Zinfandel is a vegan and vegetarian friendly wine.