2020 Choral Blend v5

When Choral and I started this winery over 12 years ago, Barbera was one of the frst wines we made. It quickly became one of our farorite “house” wines. Since that time, we expanded our portfolio of varietals but Choral kept going back to the original favorite. She particularly loved the play of Zinfandel with Barbera and decided to try another of her favorites in the blending. Merlot, this varietal tends to knit the blend together providing silky tannin bridges between the Zinfandel and Barbera along with more tightly integrating the somewhat idosyncratic fruit aromatics.

The Vineyard:
The Noma Barbera was our first varietal that we worked with 12 years ago. It is one of our foundational wines and definitely a fan favorite. Located in the Southeast side of Lodi, this vineyard is in the heart of the Lodi AVA. Soft loamy soil oil lends to high yielding vines and never disappoints in flavor.
Last year, you were introduced to the Perrin Zinfandel. It was the first time working with that vineyard & it brought forth a big, bold & spicy Zin. Planted on the East side of Lodi, rows running east to west, it gets ample amount of sun to produce a memorable Zinfandel. Now that we know how this fruit fucntions in the cellar, it’s easier to coax out the flavors and palate we strive for in our wines.
Lastly, we utilized grapes from the Smith Merlot vineyard in this blend as well. It brings such brightness to the fruit and always ages beautifully in the cellar.

When Choral and I started this winery over 12 years ago, Barbera was one of the frst wines we made. It quickly became one of our farorite “house” wines. Since that time, we expanded our portfolio of varietals but Choral kept going back to the original favorite. She particularly loved the play of Zinfandel with Barbera and decided to try another of her favorites in the blending. Merlot, this varietal tends to knit the blend together providing silky tannin bridges between the Zinfandel and Barbera along with more tightly integrating the somewhat idosyncratic fruit aromatics. This 5th release of the Choral blend pulls in 47% Barbera, 29% Zinfandel and 24% Merlot.
The wine opens in enticing aromas of black cherry, cocoa, and blackberry pie with hints of sweet pipe tobacco. On the palate, flavors of dark plum and herbaceous sweet spice envelop your tastebuds, finishing with velvety smooth tannins..