Introducing our new addition: 2004 Russian River Valley Zinfandel

With the popularity of our Morelli Lane Vineyard Zinfandel, and the extremely limited amount of wine those old vines are able to provide us each year, Dan and Steve went out in search for other great zin vineyards. They found two wonderful sites they truly appreciate the opportunity to work with.

Our Russian River Valley Zinfandel combines the Feeney Ranch, a renowned old vine vineyard (Williams Selyem and Carlisle have made wine from it) right in the heart of the Russian River appellation, with the Alper vineyard, perched atop Stoetz Ridge on the western edge of the appellation, right next to our Morelli Lane plot. The old Feeney vines are always picked late in the season and contribute bright raspberry fruit, fresh acidity, and an elegance that only old vines can provide. Alper shows the cherry and bramble character, along with the lushness that seems endemic to the red wines from Stoetz Ridge. Together, they offer us a wine with bright berry fruit, moderate alcohol, and a generous structure which is exceptional in the varietal.

At Dutton-Goldfield, we vinify our zins much like we do the pinots, in order to bring out zinfandel's wonderful fruit characters, while maintaining lushness and elegance in the wine. We hand sort the fruit prior to destemming, and cold soak for 7 days, fermenting in small open top fermenters, with gentle punchdowns. Our zin is aged only in French oak chosen to showcase the sweet fruit and candied spice overtones. The wine is racked once in early spring to marry the individual barrel contributions, and to help clarify it for unfiltered bottling. It is bottled in the late summer after spending approximately 10 months in wood.

The warm harvest of 2004 was perfect for zinfandel, especially the old vines of Feeney Ranch. In this blend, the vintage gave us a great lushness along with the thick cherry and berry fruit, while still maintaining the focus and structure that Dutton-Goldfield prefers in our wines. This easy to enjoy wine pairs well with almost anything—from any home made pasta dish and a wide variety of cheeses to roasted fowl, barbecued ribs and pot roast.

Pinot Terminology
From Russian River Valley Pinot Forum educational materials. The 2005 event was our best yet; if you'd like to be added to the invitation list for the 2006 event, contact Valerie at Dutton-Goldfield.

Oïdium: The French name for powdery mildew.

Organic grape growing: Method of grape growing gaining popularity over the past two decades in response to chemical and petrochemical use in the vineyard. Mandates the use of only natural or approved fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.

Oxidation: The reaction of various components in wine with oxygen. Can cause wine to turn brown and take on flat, musty flavors.

pH: A measure of the relative acidity or alkalinity in a solution.

Phenolics: Tannins (responsible for astringency and bitterness) and anthocyanins (pigments). Phenolics are present in the skins, seeds, and stems of the grapes.

Phomopsis: Vine disease most common where there is heavy rainfall during the pruning season.

Phylloxera: A burrowing plant louse of the Aphididae family that is one of the most serious vineyard parasites.

Pierce's disease: A bacterial (Xylella fastidosa) disease affecting grapevines, spread by small insects called glassy-winged sharpshooters.

Pigeage: The french term for punchdown.

Pinot: A family of noble grape varieties. Red varieties include Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier; white varieties include Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris.

Polymerization: Aggregation of smaller molecules of tannins and anthocyanins into larger particles, due in wine to heat or age. Polymerization provides a smoother feel to a wine and can lead to color changes and a deposit of sediment.

Pomace: Grape skins after pressing.

Powdery Mildew: Serious fungal disease, caused by the organism Unicinula spiralis, is native to America, east of the Rockies. The most serious, chronic disease in west coast vineyards.

Press wine: Wine or juice extracted from skins through the process of using a press.

Pruning: The annual process of cutting back the grapevine during the dormant season.

Pumpover: Process of mixing the skins with the must in red wines by using a pump to circulate the must over the cap.

Punchdown: Traditional Burgundian technique of physically pushing the floating skins down into the juice with a ram or plunger device.

In the Vineyards: Pruning

While the vines are sleeping in the winter, it's time to prune. Pruning focuses the growth of the vine where you want it, and determines how much fruit a vine will have. Each vineyard is different, with the variety of grape, location, fertility of the soil and climate all playing a role in the decision on how to best prune.

For pinot noir, Dutton Ranch aims for 2.5 to 4 tons per acre, depending on the vineyard. For 4 tons, the math is 2 bunches per bud and 20 buds per vine for a total of 40 bunches. It takes about 5 bunches to equal a pound, so that gives you 8 pounds per vine. Multiply that by 1,089 vines per acre and you come up with 4 tons per acre.

This assumes all goes according to plan, and each bud does its job of producing 2 bunches, and each of those bunches is full of beautiful, plump, juicy grapes. Of course, this almost never happens, as weather during bloom in May and June affects the set and the ultimate harvest. Not only does it have a direct impact on that year's harvest, it also dictates the following year's crop, since the buds are actually deciding how many bunches and shoots they'll put out the following year at this time as well.

The main types of pruning done in our vineyards are cane, cordon and head pruning. Cane pruning is used in the cooler areas, as it helps to set a better crop in these sites. At pruning time, up to 4 new canes from the previous year are trained onto the wires out to each side of the trunk (2 per side, ideally), to a point midway to the next vine. Each of these canes will have 8 to 10 buds. This is a much more time-consuming pruning process, as you need to make a decision vine by vine on the best canes to keep to create the right shape and fruitfulness.

With cordon pruning, the old wood remains trained on the wires, and the spurs on the arms of the vine are the fruiting wood. The previous year's spur will have produced 2 canes: typically, the lowest of these 2 canes will be used, and pruned down to the lowest 2 buds on it; the higher cane will be cut down below its lowest bud. In this way, a new spur (with 2 buds and 2 bunches per bud) is created each year. Head pruning is basically the same as cordon, but rather than being trained on wires out to the side of the trunk, the canes grow straight up in a more casual form.

Whatever method is used, with all pruning, it's all about balance: deciding just the right amount of fruit each vine and vineyard can comfortably ripen to perfection.

Wine Releases
The first four of our 2004 vintage wines have been released (the single vineyards are bottling this week and will be out in late summer):

2004 Dutton Ranch Chardonnay - A blend of five of our favorite Dutton Ranch vineyards in the Green Valley-Russian River Valley appellation. The core of citrus is overlaid by pear and stone fruits, and the nose displays spice and poppy seed overtones. The wine is particularly lush, while still displaying the focused lime and tangerine notes that we expect from Dutton Ranch Chardonnay. 2,565 cases.

2004 Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir - The characters of our Russian River Valley neighborhood are captured in this blend of four Dutton Ranch pinot sites. The nose greets you with lilacs, followed by black cherry, dark chocolate and a streak of blueberry. In the mouth, the black cherry dominates the core of sweetness, complemented by black tea, raspberry and fine-grained tannins. 2,490 cases.

2004 Morelli Lane Vineyard Zinfandel - Raspberries, blueberries and cream jump out of the glass as you pour the wine. With time in the glass, the deep black cherry, bramble and floral notes emerge. In the mouth it offers plush berry fruit and a touch of bramble and bittersweet chocolate. Its bright fruit carries through to the finish, thanks to the moderate alcohol and lively acidity. 206 cases.

2004 Russian River Valley Zinfandel - In the nose, the wine leads with aromas of cherry cobbler and candied cranberries, with a touch of roasted nuts and vanilla as overtones. The mouth follows with bright cherry and berry fruit, notes of cocoa and allspice, and a wonderful combination of opulence, firmness of structure, and moderate alcohol that makes it a great food pairing wine. 477 cases.

We were thrilled to be named
Regional Winery of the Year
in the Wine & Spirits Top 100
Winter 2005 issue

Dutton-Goldfield Winery, 825 Gravenstein Hwy N, Suite 3, Sebastopol, CA 95472
707.823.3887 ~ Fax: 707.829.6766 ~ Email: info@duttongoldfield.com ~ web: www.duttongoldfield.com