Kenwood Vineyards 2009 Jack London Zinfandel

Our first Zinfandel was bottled from the Jack London Vineyard in 1988. This vineyard is long recognized for its exceptional red wines.  Located on Sonoma Mountain with a southeasterly exposure, the climatic conditions and long, cool growing season of this viticultural area create complexity and balance in the fruit.  The influence of the vineyard's red volcanic soil and the fruity characteristics of the grapes combine to produce an excellent, very distinctive Zinfandel.

The vintage of 2009 began with a dry spring followed by a mild summer.  By mid September the Zinfandel located at the highest and warmest part of the vineyard was ready and we began picking.  Over the course of the following three weeks as the fruit slowly ripened, we picked our way down to the lowest part of the vineyard. The grapes were fermented in stainless steel, and then aged in 60% French and 40% American oak barrels for just over a year and a half.