1983 Dusi Ranch Zinfandel

In this fine vintage we selected a section of our Paso Robles vineyard to make a limited bottling for the Advance Tasting Program. The distinctive spiciness of the zinfandel from these old vines is complemented by small cooperage aging in french oak. This elegant wine will develop with two or three years of bottle age yet should be quite enjoyable soon after release.

The zinfandel on this Paso Robles ranch was planted in 1923. It was purchased soon after by Sylvester and Catarina Dusi, who raised three sons there—Guido, Dante, and Benito. When Guido and Dante went to war in 1944, vineyard cultivation was left to Sylvester and young Benito—eleven years old at the time. Beni, as his many friends call him, maintained the vines from then on. Ridge’s long relationship with Beni and the Dusi vineyard began when Dave Bennion— scouting the area in 1967—knocked on the Dusis’ door and asked to buy five tons of grapes.