Brand new website coming soon!
Hello,
Happy New Year! While we are already a month into 2008, it still has that new fresh feeling (even though the Green Bay Packers losing the NFC title game to the NY Giants is still burning at me!) I decided that it is time to overhaul the website to make it more useful and freshened up.
Zepaltas 2006 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
There are some exciting new things about to surface this year at Zepaltas Wines.
You can look forward to some new wines to be released this year that you have not seen yet: a Pinot Rose’, a new Chardonnay from a classic Russian River vineyard, and quite possibly the best pinot fruit that I have ever dealt with fell into my lap this year (the vineyard doesn’t have an official name yet-even though it is nearly ten years old!)
Thanks for the continued support of my wines. All of the nice emails from customers have been heartwarming. It is so great to hear about your experiences with the wines.
Also, I want to thank everyone who has been patient with me as I figure out how to actually run a business! I am comfortable with the winemaking process, but I am definitely a rookie when it comes to the business side of things. There have been some blips on the screen: shipping problems, miscommunications and missed opportunities. So far it has been just me running all aspects of the winery, and it has been insane. I never knew how much work a 500 case winery could be. Just around the corner, I will have someone helping me with the missing pieces. I will have improved customer service (some of you may be saying, "you must mean ACTUAL customer service?") My goal this year is to have better communication with all of you, timely shipments, and no damn screw-ups!
I look forward to seeing you all out in the market place this year.
Cheers,
Ryan Zepaltas
I"m not quite sure how or why this is happening. How did I end up deciding that I need to make some wine of my own? I guess maybe there were epiphanies along the way, but I can’t pinpoint any certain moment in time. I guess it maybe is a passion that snowballed over time, and I just decided one day to make wines that I thought could be possibly done in the style I envisioned.
Recent News
Indie rock poster artist Miss Amy Jo
to design some special new wine labels for Zepaltas Wines.( view her work here )
93 Zepaltas Syrah Santa Lucia Highlands Rosella's Vineyard
"A classy Syrah, with rich, peppery wild berry and blackberry scents. Focused and tight, yet fleshy and supple, this is big and complex without being weighty. Has wonderful depth. Drink now through 2012."
- James Laube, Wine Spectator
A few cases left!
Zepaltas Wines to be featured in the the upcoming Pinot Noir Issue of Wine & Spirits Magazine.
tech notes on Zepaltas Wines 2006 Suacci Vineyard Pinot Noir
wine info
- 75 cases produced
- $49
- Tech Notes:
- 3 barrels
- 11 months in barrel
66% new French oak
- 14.0% alcohol
- pH: 3.58
- TA: .6
download tech sheet
2006 Suacci Vineyard
Pinot Noir
Suacci Vineyard
I definitely got more involved with the vineyard in 2006.The main reason is that I live about 10 feet from the vines I took up residency at the Suacci Vineyards when
their cottage became available.
We had improved yields this year- almost 1 ton per acre! Again, probably not a good business model, but perfect fruit.
I was able to pick and ferment all three blocks separately.
It was a huge learning experience to see how a block of pinot 100 yards from another can be 10 days behind in
ripening, and have completely different flavors. Or, how a row of trees adjacent to one block will affect the ripening time.
The vineyard produced tiny
clusters that created intense, dark color and great acid profile that gives the wine stability, and brightness of flavor.
The flavor highlights are pomegranate and
raspberries. There is an overlying presence of herbal character that is screaming Sonoma Coast.
I know that it is cliché to say, but this wine is way better than
the 2005 version (and that was my favorite wine of last year.) I just think I did a better job with the oak selection, and was more in tune with the vines throughout the
growing season.
tech notes on Zepaltas Wines 2006 La Cruz Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.
wine info
- 137 cases produced
- $47
- Tech Notes:
- Harvest Dates:
9-25-06, 10-23-06
- 11 months in barrel
50% new French Oak
download tech sheet
2006 La Cruz Vineyard
Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
I never had the pressure on me like I did with this wine.
After the great score in the Wine Spectator (95 points!!!) I have never feared the “Sophomore Flop” more in my life. I did not want to put out
the Pinot version of Caddyshack II.
Fear not. This wine can go toe-to-toe with the 05, and probably kick its ass. What I feel in the 06 La Cruz is more powerful flavors.
It has the same flavors of Sonoma Coast, but with a more intense focus of the fruit character.
We picked the two clones (114 & 115) about a month part again, but the numbers were flipped flopped.
The early pick of the 115 actually came in riper with a bit less acidity that the late picked 114. It just goes to show that use of the term “microclimates” within a vineyard is not just marketing "smoke and mirrors."
tech notes on Zepaltas Wines 2005 Rosella’s Vineyard Syrah
wine info
- 58 cases produced
- $48
- Tech Notes:
- Harvest date:
10-24-05
- 17 months in barrel
50% new French oak
- 14.5% alcohol
- pH: 3.7
- TA: .57
download tech sheet
2005 Rosella’s Vineyard
Syrah
With a vineyard that is as consistent as Rosella's each year, it can be hard to come up with new tasting notes.
Franscioni and his crew have the vineyard so dialed in
that I know that I can always expect beautiful, perfectly cared for fruit that can be turned into killer syrah.
2005 was a cooler year in general, and the
ever-present cool winds that come through the Santa Lucia Highlands worked their magic each afternoon, and allowed the syrah to hang on for a long time. Slow, even
ripening creates complex fruit.
The final wine is layered with all multiple characters: a touch of citrus rides high above a core of blueberries, blackberries and coffee.
The wine is intense and powerful yet the mouth feel is not too viscous. I fermented the two clones 877 & Bien Nacido separately; both about 10% whole cluster to add
an herbal layer to the flavor profile and strength to the backbone.
I have come to love using Grenache yeast on this wine because of the fresh- ness that it
gives to the wine. This wine is drinking well young, but should continue to evolve and improve over the next 5 years. Enjoy throughout the cold winter months with hearty
dishes!
tech notes on Zepaltas Wines 2005 La Cruz Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.
wine info
- 73 cases produced
- $43
- Tech Notes:
- 3 barrels
- 66% new French Oak
(Ermitage, Boutes)
- Clones: 115,114
- 11 months in barrel
- Yeast: D254
- 14.5% alcohol
- pH: 3.7
- TA: .66
download tech sheet
2005 La Cruz Vineyard
Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
La Cruz Vineyard
If you are familiar with the wines of Keller Estate, then you need no real introduction to the La Cruz Vineyard. For those unfamiliar, the La Cruz Vineyard is the estate vineyard of the Keller Estate winery where they grow Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and some Syrah.
The vineyard is located in the Petaluma Valley between the city of Petaluma and the town of Sonoma, CA.
This breathtakingly beautiful vineyard is mostly hillside and facing mainly west with some of the sections facing eastward.
The uniqueness of the Petaluma valley, which opens up to the coast via the Petaluma gap, allows the fog to come all the way inland to the vineyard. The vineyard also is located near the backwaters of the San Pablo Bay which almost acts as "insurance" against hot weather. This coastal influence allows the vineyard to have a long and cool growing season, which is perfect for growing complex and slowly ripened pinot noir.
I source two of the many clones planted there: 115 and114. The best part of working with the Kellers (under the direction of Winemaker, Michael McNeill) is all the experimenting that they do to constantly grow better quality of fruit.
The flavors of the vineyard are classic Sonoma Coast: wet stones, pomegranate, and earth. This wine is made in a more robust intense style and should be a great early drinker.
James Laube of The Wine Spectator’s had this to say about this wine:
ZEPALTAS Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast La Cruz Vineyard 2005 95 $43
Wonderful purity of fruit, with ripe, rich, vivid blackberry, wild berry and cherry cola scents shaded by light, toasty oak. Excellent balance, depth and concentration. Elegant and stylish but still packing in lots of fruit. Drink now through 2011. 73 cases produced. —J.L.
