In the early days of of the tasting room there was only one very small place where we could hold wine tastings. I’m talking eight people was a crowd! I would help my Dad sell wine, but as I bussed glass and rang up customers, I’d have an ear listening to him recount the journey of starting the winery. It seemed like each time I would capture a new detail and gain insight into his drive, passion, and charisma.
One detail that has stuck with me from those early days was his lack of desire to compete in wine competitions or submit wines to critics. He truly had zero desire to impress a judge or receive a small sticker to add to his bottle boasting its ranking. I have always agreed with him, that is until the Temecula Valley visitors bureau created “The People’s Choice” tasting competition. We decided to play ball because it was a local wine competition, and was structured around a blind tasting format. Best of all, it was to be judged by Temecula Valley wine enthusiasts!
When they announced the winners that first year, we were thrilled that our 2014 Zinfandel brought home 2nd Place! I was later told that we missed out on gold by tenths of a point. Nothing fires up a competitive person more than losing by a fraction of a point! When the 2017 event was announced, we briefly considered re-submitting the 2014 Zinfandel as we had only just bottled the 2015 vintage. We ended up gambling and entered the still-young 2015 Zinfandel.
The decision paid off, as by the end of the second annual event our 2015 Zinfandel was awarded 1st Place and the title of Best Red in the Valley! Fast forward to October 2018, when we again returned to the People’s Choice event for a third time. To keep the tradition rolling, we brought our 2016 Zinfandel for the attendees to taste. This was a bit of a risk as our 2016 crops were hit hard by a major heat wave, with the 120° F temperatures burning the baby berries right off some of the vines! The yield was light that year, but the intensity of the fruit was incredible, and so we had a suspicion that our 2016 Zinfandel might fare well.
I received a call from my father on the night of the event. He opened with some serious questions and an absolute lack of emotion, but eventually he cracked and congratulated us on once again winning 1st Place! To win 1st or 2nd place in three straight years is an incredible honor, especially considering this was a blind tasting format.
So how did our Zinfandel program come to produce such great wines? It all started in 2005, when Marcelo planted the first crops. Three years later he collected his first harvest of Zinfandel fruit and produced about 200 cases of wine. The 2008 Zinfandel was very well received by our Doffo Wine Club members as well as visitors to the Tasting Room.
Zinfandel has a long history in the Inland Empire, and some of the original vineyards planted in Rancho Cucamonga bear this varietal. This grape, also known as Primitivo in Italy, likes the warm, dry climate and grows very well in Temecula. Over the years we have learned many important lessons about farming this particular varietal. Zinfandel is thin-skinned and is susceptible to bunch rot. Bunch rot occurs when small wing clusters ripen before the larger main clusters, attracting birds to poke holes and drink the juice from the wing cluster grapes. The problem is that the juice then runs down onto the larger clusters and spoils the whole cluster as temperatures rise. To avoid this, we make several passes prior to harvest and clip off the wing clusters. It drastically reduces our yield each year, but our aim is to achieve a more consistent quality throughout the vineyard.
Another contributing factor to the quality of our wines is the fact that we triple-sort our fruit prior to fermentation. We are currently the only winery in Temecula Valley that practices triple-sorting, but the result is almost 100% fruit going into fermentation, with virtually no stems, leaves, or other non-grape matter making its way into the mix. It is time consuming and tedious, but worth it for the quality we get out of it. After all, the best wines start with only the best fruit.
It is very hard not to like a wine that delivers such a symphony of flavors and aromatics. The complexity of this wine’s profile is so enticing. The sun-ripened strawberry tones tickle the senses and invite you to take a sip. Once on the palate, this Zinfandel explodes with big ripe berry tones and spices. The finish is long and seductive. We truly enjoy making this varietal because there are plenty of other California Zinfandels out there, but the very good ones are far and few between. We pride ourselves on getting it just right, and are so excited to share it with our loyal Wine Club Members!
Damian Doffo
