Girard Winery, Napa Valley (California) 2018

 I’m a big fan of heritage wines like this one – a true field blend where there’s general knowledge of the contents, but no specific, out to the hundredths place percentage detail that really doesn’t concern most tasters anyway.  The point here is to step back in time and taste the history of California, where Zinfandel vineyards dominated plantings around the state, and dying vines were replaced along the way with stronger more disease resistant varieties like Petite Sirah, Grenache, etc.  The vineyards mutate over time, and some white grapes even wheedle their way into the mix, adding acidity and aromatic charm to the resulting wine.  This wine was picked on a single day, fermented as a single lot and aged in fusion oak barrels that have French and American staves and Hungarian heads – making the wine a sort of a field and forest blend, if you will.  But back to the point – taste.  It’s all good here, with fresh acidity and the mix of ripe and tart berry character that comes from such practices.  Add pepper, brown spice and a firm tannic grip, and you’ve got it – history in a glass.