Dry farmed and organically grown, our zinfandel comes from our Brutal Hill estate vineyard of Sonoma Mountain, which produces spicy, elegant, and finessed Sonoma County style zinfandel from a mixture of volcanic and sandy loam soils at 1500 ft elevation. These are old, head-pruned vines planted in 1966, and the flavors they are capable of are outstanding. The vineyard is a field blend: a mix of mostly zinfandel, with petite sirah and alicante bouschet (and many grapes that we have no idea what they are) interspersed with the zinfandel and harvested at the same time.

2024 was a lovely, mostly non-eventful growing season (thankfully). A powerful heat spike in late June damaged some of the flowers in burgeoning grapes, limiting the potential yields in most of the vineyards of Sonoma County, but the rest of the season was surprisingly mild with cool nights and abundant sunshine during the day with pretty steady temperatures. The wine is balanced and firm, with many layers of delicious and rich raspberry and cedar balanced by baking spices and light tannin.

As always, the wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered after being aged in 20% new American oak barrels. Our flagship wine is very versatile: perfect with a cheeseburger or saucy American BBQ, as well as slow cooked meats, spicy curries, or pasta.

The Petaluma Pairing: From Our In-House Cheese Shop

Our Zinfandel is a classic and versatile California red. Because we own and operate the Petaluma Cheese Shop right inside our tasting room, we’ve hand-selected the perfect matches for this crowning achievement:

• The Match: We recommend an Aged Asiago or an Aged Gouda. The crystalline crunch and salty depth of the aged cheese stand up perfectly to the wine’s dark spice and tannins.

• The Experience: Visit the Petaluma Cheese shop counter inside our tasting room and have us build a cheese board, or recommend cheeses for your tasting flight.