Wine Press
Wine Spectator Top 100: Nalle Zinfandel
Refined and graceful, this is top form Zinfandel, with vibrant cherry and raspberry flavors laced with sweet anise and pepper. The finish lingers long toward polished tannins. –Tim Fish
94 Points for 2019 Nalle Zinfandel – Wine Spectator
Refined and graceful, this is top form Zinfandel, with vibrant cherry and raspberry flavors laced with sweet anise and pepper. The finish lingers long toward polished tannins. –Tim Fish
Vinepair’s 50 Best Wines of 2019
In an ideal world, all old vine Zinfandels would follow this wine’s lead: relatively low alcohol content (13.8 percent ABV), refreshing acidity, and concentrated fruit flavors that include earth, dark berries, and pepper, rather than just jammy dark fruit.
93 Points – Wine Spectator 2019 Nalle Zinfandel Estate Old Vine Dry Creek Valley
Old-school briar notes meet elegant complexity in this red, which offers raspberry and cherry flavors that are accented by smoky sage and white pepper flavors that build tension toward refined tannins.
Zinfandel According to Nalle
I’ve known Doug Nalle for the better part of 30 years, and even when I haven’t seen him in a while, he’s always the same ol’ Doug. I’d be disappointed if he wasn’t. Since his debut vintage in 1984, he’s gone his own way at Nalle Winery in Sonoma’s Dry Cr…
In Praise of 2019 California Zinfandels
“Yummy” is a great word, but you rarely read it in a tasting note. I hesitate to use it. It seems, I don’t know, amateurish. Yet, in the case of the 2019 California Zinfandels, it’s perfect.
The Tangled Tale of Zinfandel
Zinfandel should be considered among California’s crown jewels—but it’s often counted out as a grape variety because of its perceived taste. That’s no fault of winemakers—Zinfandel is a variety that grows unevenly. Zinfandel vines aren’t like more typical vi…
The Zenith of Zinfandel
Back in the mid-1980s, when many Zinfandel producers were making big, muscular trophy wines, Doug Nalle and his wife Lee started their winery with the intention of making elegant, lean and complex Zins in the European style of noble red wines. ‘We were following tradi…
Wine On The Dime – Nalle Sparkling Rosé of Pinot Noir Review
“This is an absolutely fantastic bottle of wine!” – We couldn’t agree more, Stuart 🙂 Watch Wine On The Dime review Nalle’s 2017 Sparkling Rose Pinot Noir
Six Sonoma County masters of old vines and Zinfandel
Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley houses some of the country’s oldest Zinfandel vines, and Nalle makes some of the best, under-the-radar wines from them. Doug Nalle founded his eponymous winery in 1984, and today has passed the torch onto his son Andrew. Nalle Winery crafts…
The Smart Traveler’s Guide to Sonoma Wine Country
Intrepid Oenophiles Make Time for the Three Sonomas – While Sonoma may have wide name recognition, the county’s topography remains surprisingly obscure. […] In short, Sonoma is no side trip.
Heart of Zinfandel
Tricky to grow and produced in a range of styles, it can be hard to pin down the character of great Californian Zinfandel. Stephen Brook suggests starting your search in Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley, and picks out his favourite wines.
Elegant Zinfandel like no other
In this episode, I talk to the Zinmasters of the Dry Creek Valley, Andrew & April Nalle. Nalle has been making Zinfandel in a milder style than most other wineries — with balance, acidity, & finesse for nearly 40 years. Andrew recently took over the winery from his dad…
Dirt Farmer
“I dry-farm because I’m lazy,” Bernier says, with a coyote’s glint in his eye.
He’s kidding, of course. Sort of.
In California’s Wine Country, tasting rooms are essential
Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley houses some of the country’s oldest Zinfandel vines, and Nalle makes some of the best, under-the-radar wines from them. Doug Nalle founded his eponymous winery in 1984, and today has passed the torch onto his son Andrew. Nalle Winery crafts…
Life Between the Vines – Doug Nalle Interview
We revisit our interview with Doug from November of 2009 to get a few laughs along with some wine wisdom, from a guy that knows “wine makes you smart”.
How To Dry Farm Winegrapes
Dry farming refers to crop production in the dry season without supplemental irrigation. “This is the way everyone used to farm,” says Dave Osgood, a dry farmer in Paso Robles. Vineyards in California were dry-farmed or flood/furrow irrigated until the 1970s when dr…
Chemist Alexander Shulgin, popularizer of MDMA, says his favorite mind-altering drug is ”a nice, moderately expensive Zinfandel.”
During a conference of psychedelics enthusiasts in 2007, Dr. Shulgin lamented that he was often asked to name his favorite mind-altering drug. Despite devoting his life to plumbing the depths of human consciousness, he answered, “Probably a nice, moderately expensive …
Passport to Dry Creek Valley
These days, it seems like wine tasting events are everywhere across Northern California. Wine Trail this, Wine Road that, pretty much every grape growing region from Marin to Mendocino wants us to come to open house festivals held nearly year-round.
Yet Passport to D…
Nalle Winery Zinfandel Makes You Smart
A lot of the uniqueness of these wines has to do with when the grapes are picked. I was there mid-October, and they were already done picking. In fact, all the Zinfandel grapes arrived a month before I got there! Picking grapes at a lower ripeness means less sugar in th…
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