2020 Demostene Ranch

Bramble fruit, clove spice, and fresh mint on the nose. Medium-bodied, well-balanced, and elegant on the palate, with notes of black cherry and sasparilla. Well-integrated tannin with a juicy, refreshing finish. MB (3/24)

These old vines, farmed by the Demostene family for multiple generations, are located in Alexander Valley. Planted half to zinfandel and half to carignane, this combination is ideally suited to the warm climate of the valley. Carignane’s naturally bright acidity complements the ripeness of zinfandel grown here, producing a balanced wine with elegant tannins. Appealing as a young wine, it will develop fully over seven years. JO (2/22)

Born in Italy, Manuel Demostene moved to Healdsburg in 1902 where he found work on Santo Botti’s ranch. Santo died the next year and in 1906 Manuel married his widow, Julia, taking possession of the ranch. Around the same time, Abele Ferrari arrived from Italy and purchased what is now known as the Healdsburg Machine Shop. In 1925, he purchased the run down Soda Rock Winery, refurbishing it after prohibition. Abele’s daughter, Rose, married Manuel’s son, Leo in 1936 and they later helped run Soda Rock while raising four children on the property. The couple bought the 113 acre Sausal Ranch in 1956 and continued to buy more nearby land for their two sons, Ed and David. This wine comes from vines planted over one hundred years ago on Ed’s original twenty-five acres. Ed, who passed away in 2015, taught his daughter, Leisa, everything he knows about growing grapes. Leisa and Ward continue the family legacy, giving special attention to that block of old vine zinfandel and carignane.

Rainfall: 24 inches (below normal)
Bloom: Late May
Weather: Rains in March and April helped the vines get through the summer. We were just starting harvest when the heat spike hit in August.

Harvest Date: 24 August
Grapes: Average Brix 24.2˚
TA: 8.15 g/L
pH: 3.45
Fermentation: Grapes de-stemmed and crushed, pumped over a floating cap twice daily.
Barrels: 100% air-dried American oak barrels (10% one year old, 40% four years old, and 40% five years old).
Aging: Fourteen months in barrel

Hand-harvested grapes fermented on the indigenous yeast, followed by full malolactic on the naturally occurring malolactic bacteria; minimum effective sulfur for this wine (35 ppm at crush, 68 ppm over the course of aging); pad filtered at bottling. In keeping with our philosophy of minimal intervention, this is the sum of our actions.

See all food pairing recipes we have created specifically for this wine.