Zinfandel “Maggio” Old Vines 2021 – Oak Ridge Winery

The grapes to produce Zinfandel “Maggio” Old Vines Oak Ridge Winery were picked at 25 to 26° Brix, for optimum ripeness, acidity levels and quality. The grapes were cool fermented at 18 to 23°C, in order to slowly extract the colour and tannins, while retaining the fresh fruit characters. Once fermented through to dryness, the grapes were pressed off their skins and allowed to settle prior to racking. Zinfandel “Maggio” Old Vines Oak Ridge Winery then went through malolactic fermentation, giving the final wine a smooth mouthfeel and softening the finish. Once complete, a proportion of the wine was matured in various oak treatments for between six months, until it reached the desired profile of oak complexity, while the remainder was stored in stainless steel. 60% of the oak component used was medium to heavy toast American oak and 40% of the oak was medium toast French oak.

The grapes come from 500 acres of estate vineyards throughout the Lodi American Viticultural Area, which are situated between the Sierra Nevada foothills and the San Francisco Bay. The area’s Mediterranean climate of warm days with coastal evening breezes is ideal for the cultivation of world-class wine grapes. The vines, some of which are over 100 years old, are gnarled and sculpted by time, yielding small amounts of intensely flavoured fruit to create wines that are the ultimate expression of their terroir.