Behind the Cork™ - Rombauer El Dorado Twin Rivers Zinfandel

2017 Rombauer El Dorado “Twin Rivers” Zinfandel ($42)

Rombauer’s El Dorado (“the golden”) Vineyard is located 1,650 feet above sea level in the Sierra Foothills of El Dorado County, California. Its sandy soils, high elevation, and warm days and cool night air are ideal for growing Zinfandel.

The grapes were carefully de-stemmed and sorted to ensure only perfect fruit made it into the wine. A cold soak extracted color and flavor before primary fermentation began. The wine was then gently pressed, racked to oak barrels to finish primary fermentation, malolactic conversion, and aging in French and American oak for 15 months.

The Rombauer Twin Rivers Zinfandel is composed of 85% Zinfandel and 15% Petite Sirah.

This wine is medium ruby red with plum, black cherry and hints of wood on the nose. On the palate it has rich dark fruits flavors along with notes of smoke and oak. The tannins are very light and smooth. The wine finishes light and easy.

I’m a big fan of wines from El Dorado and this Twin Rivers Zinfandel from Rombauer is a great one! Cheers!

Barbera Wine in California

While Barbera is originally from Italy, it was brought to California by Italian immigrants in the 19th century.

Much of it was originally grown in California’s Central Valley where it has been widely used as a blend component in mass-produced jug wines.

Word has it that Barbera was a personal favorite of Ernest and Julio Gallo. Their vineyards, planted in the early 1970s, are said to still be producing Barbera. Barbera is believed to be a component in Ernest and Julio Gallo’s Hearty Burgundy and the Italian Swiss Colony Winery has also reportedly used it successfully for several of their table wines.

Today, Barbera is being produced in many of the finer wine regions of California and seems especially well suited for Northern California’s El Dorado and Amador Counties.

I’m constantly on the lookout for Barbara. It’s difficult to find and still somewhat of a wine that doesn’t get the respect that it deserves. So, if you are lucky enough to find a bottle of California Barbera, give it a try. And, it’s no surprise that it pairs very well with hearty Italian foods. Cheers!

Barbera: A Wine That Doesn't Get the Respect it Deserves

Several years ago, while visiting northern California, I was served a glass of red wine from Amador County that made me do a double-take.  When I asked what is was, I was told but the varietal didn't mean anything to me. I ended up having another glass and again asking about it, but it just wasn't a varietal that I'd heard of before that point in time.  Finally, I asked one more time what I was being served and was told it was a Barbera. I had never heard of it, but I knew I really liked it.

Excited by learning about this varietal, I returned home from my trip and, at my first opportunity, headed out to a nicer wine seller in search of a Barbera. I looked up and down the aisles but wasn't able to find the Barbera.  There was a very knowable wine guy at the store, but he was busy helping another customer with a wine selection and talking extensively to the customer about the wines they were interested in purchasing. This was definitely the guy I wanted to talk to, knowing he'd help me find a great Barbera. After waiting for quite some time, the wine guy became available and it was my turn to have a conversation with him. I walked right up and asked "Do have any Barbera wine that you'd recommend?"  After a bit of an awkward pause, he uttered one word; "No."  I was somewhat put on my heals but asked if he sold any Barbera wine. Again, the one-word answer was "No."  I thanked him politely and walked away. Had I said something wrong?

Well, it turns out that Barbera has been widely planted in California for a long time, but in the past, it was solely used as a blending component in mass-produced jug wines. Hence, it hasn't had a very good reputation as a varietal and still doesn't seem to get the respect it deserves. 

But, all that changed with the Barbera planting in the Amador and El Dorado Counties in the Sierra Foothills of California. Today, they continue to produce nice Barbera varietal wines.  They are not widely distributed, so they are still hard to find.

So, if you haven't ever heard of, or tried, a Barbera varietal, keep your eyes out for one. And, if you are so lucky as to come across one from the Sierra Foothills of California or from anywhere, give it a try. You're likely to be surprised by this wonderful medium to full-bodied wine with great dark fruit flavors of blackberry, black cherry, and plum, And, when aged in oak, it also develops even richer full-bodied fruit flavors with a hint of chocolate.

There is another wine region of the world that produces nice Barbera. And, we'll explore that region next time. Until then, Cheers!