Broc Cellars White Zinfandel 2020

Broc Cellars White Zinfandel is 100% Zinfandel made as a skin-contact rosé from two organically farmed California sites: 95% from Arrowhead Mountain Vineyard in the Sonoma Valley and 5% from Ricetti Vineyard in Redwood Valley, Mendocino County. Arrowhead Mountain sits on 55-degree slopes above the town of Sonoma, its vines growing in iron-rich volcanic soil and red volcanic rock, planted in 1997 and farmed organically by owners Bob and Ruth Elster. The Ricetti Vineyard is a certified organic, dry-farmed site in Redwood Valley planted in 1948, with head-trained vines on gravelly loam soils.

In the cellar, the Arrowhead Mountain fruit was foot stomped whole cluster and macerated on skins for 4 hours, then pressed into stainless steel where it fermented for 10 days before transferring to a 4,400-liter stainless tank for 8 months of aging. The 5% Ricetti component was vinified separately as a light red, whole cluster, and blended in at the end to add structure. Fermentation was spontaneous with only native yeasts and bacteria; no additives were used during production.

The name White Zinfandel is a tongue-in-cheek reference: winemaker Chris Brockway first applied it to acknowledge the wine's high acidity and softer palate compared to a conventional red Zinfandel. Production was limited to 460 cases. The result is a tart, high-acid, pale rosé that has nothing to do with the sweet pink wine the name typically implies.