Above & Below 2019

Old Vine Field Blend Red
Vintages: 2018, 2019
Varieties: 33% Carignan, 33% Mataro, 33% Zinfandel (Contra Costa County)
Alcohol: 13.5% by vol.

Portuguese and Italian immigrants settled Contra Costa County in the late 1800s, drawn to the offshore whaling industry and the prolific salmon fishery of the Sacramento River. Vineyards were planted to field blends of Carignan, Mataro, and Zinfandel and harvested together for the production of a single cuvée with simple, low-intervention winemaking. This wine has been made by many generations before us and it’s an honor to continue to share this story. We strive to intervene as little as possible and present the same wine experience. As Above, so Below.

Production: 

The fruit was hand-harvested on 9/9/19. Zinfandel was de-stemmed and co-fermented with whole cluster Carignan and Mataro in a 2 ton open-top fermenter. The fruit was gently foot-treaded to liberate juice and macerated at cellar temperature. A vigorous native fermentation developed within three days. Fermentation was managed with a generous initial pump-over, followed by 1-2 daily punch downs. The wine was pressed to neutral French oak barrique after an 11 day maceration and aged in barrel for 13 months. We bottled the 2018 vintage of Above & Below after 10 months in barrel and felt that the wine was asking for a longer elevage - 14 months.