SUB-ZERO WINE BLOG

AVAs are American Viticultural Areas—wine appellations that are officially designated by the U.S. government. In Sonoma, the Dry Creek Valley AVA has been the source of great Zinfandel for many decades and still has some gnraly old vines that were planted many years ago—the kind that Zin winemakers love to work with. The area is still in top form today, providing the grapes for superb Zins from Gary Farrell, Ravenswood, and Bella Vineyards, among others. At the northern end of the Dry Creek Valley is the Rockpile AVA. As you can guess from the name, it’s rugged and remote, but not so inaccessible that vintners aren’t albe and willing to trek in there and pick grapes to take back to their wineries. The elevations are too high for fog, so the grapes get lots of California sun. Zinfandel has been a key grape in Rockpile for a long time, and it’s now been joined by Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet and Petite Sirah. If you want to see what Rockpile is capable of producing, just look for the Mauritson Zinfandel from Cemetery Vineyard or the Rosenblum Syrah from Fran’s Vineyard. Ask you wine merchant about other wines from the Dry Creek Valley and Rockpile AVAs.