Clif Family Winery Gary's Improv Zinfandel 2018
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Beautiful bright red in color. Chocolate covered cherry, blackberry pie, sage and a hint of black pepper. The palate is so bright and fresh with prominent acidity through the middle, carrying the wine into a long finish.
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The grapes for this 100% varietal wine come predominantly from Beatty Ranch, and many of the vines are more than 100 years old. Thick in brick, blackberry, oak and tannin, it offers a powerfully built and lengthy experience on the palate, laced in baking spice.
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2017-
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Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford began their love of food and wine with cycling adventures through Italy where long days of cycling would end in leisurely evenings of good wine, food and hospitality. As great lovers of food, wine and adventure, Gary and Kit sought to bring these memorable experiences to their Napa Valley home.
Today, Clif Family winemaker, Laura Barret, makes wines from grapes grown on our Howell Mountain estate and from local Napa Valley and Mendocino growers while Executive Chef John McConnell has created a selection of artisan food products that pair perfectly with our wines. At our Napa Valley Tasting Room and Bruschetteria Food Truck, our wine and food are paired to create exciting tasting experiences.
With a focus on sustainability, Clif Family wines are primarily made from organically grown grapes or sourced from growers with a focus on practices that care for the earth. Our Howell Mountain farm and vineyards are CCOF certified organic and our artisan food products are made from organic ingredients.
“We’re working to run a different kind of company: The kind of place we’d want to work, that makes the kind of food we’d like to eat, and that strives for a healthier, more sustainable world – the kind of world we’d like to pass on to our children.”- KIT CRAWFORD
Unapologetically bold, spice-driven and jammy, Zinfandel has secured its title as the darling of California vintners by adapting well to the state's diverse microclimates and landscapes. Born in Croatia, it later made its way to southern Italy where it was named Primitivo. Fortunately, the imperial nursery of Vienna catalogued specimens of the vine, and it later made its way to New England in 1829. Parading the true American spirit, Zinfandel found a new home in California during the Gold Rush of 1849. Somm Secret—California's ancient vines of Zinfandel are those that survived the neglect of Prohibition; today these vines produce the most concentrated, ethereal and complex examples.
Today Cabernet Sauvignon is the star of this part of Napa’s rugged, eastern hills, but Zinfandel was responsible for giving the Howell Mountain growing area its original fame in the late 1800s.
Winemaking in Howell Mountain was abandoned during Prohibition, and wasn’t reawakened until the arrival of Randy Dunn, a talented winemaker famous for the success of Caymus in the 1970s and 1980s. In the early eighties, he set his sights on the Napa hills and subsequently astonished the wine world with a Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Shortly thereafter Howell Mountain became officially recognized as the first sub-region of Napa Valley (1983).
With vineyards at 1,400 to 2,000 feet in elevation, they predominantly sit above the fog line but the days in Howell Mountain remain cooler than those in the heart of the valley, giving the grapes a bit more time on the vine.
The Howell Mountain AVA includes 1,000 acres of vineyards interspersed by forestlands in the Vaca Mountains. The soils, shallow and infertile with good drainage, are volcanic ash and red clay and produce highly concentrated berries with thick skins. The resulting wines are full of structure and potential to age.
Today Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah thrive in this sub-appellation, as well as its founding variety, Zinfandel.