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Product Name
Vintage
Price
Varietal
Country
Region
Appellation
Size
Additional Discount
Original Item
2012
$32.34
Zinfandel
United States
California
Sonoma Valley
750ml
N/A
Closest Match
2019
$35.49
Zinfandel
United States
California
Sonoma Valley
750ml
Best QPR in Price range
2016
$29.94
Zinfandel
United States
California
Sonoma Valley
750ml
12B / $29.34
More Details
Winery
Ravenswood
Vintage: 2012
2012 has, so far been a positive year for wineries around the world. While it may be a little too early to speak of the wines being made in the northern hemisphere, European and North American wineries have already begun reporting that their harvesting season has been generally very good, and are predicting to continue with the kind of successes they saw in 2011. However, 2012 has been something of a late year for France, due to unpredictable weather throughout the summer, and the grapes were ripening considerably later than they did in 2011 (which was, admittedly, an exceptionally early year). French wineries are claiming, though, that this could well turn out to be advantageous, as the slow ripening will allow the resulting wines to express more flavour and features of the terroir they are grown in.
The southern hemisphere has seen ideal climatic conditions in most of the key wine producing countries, and Australia and New Zealand particularly had a superb year, in particular with the Bordeaux varietal grapes that grow there and which love the humidity these countries received plenty of. Also enjoying a fantastic year for weather were wineries across Argentina and Chile, with the Mendoza region claiming that 2012 will be one of their best vintages of the past decade. Similar claims are being made across the Chilean wine regions, where Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon had an especially good year. These two grape varietals also produced characterful wines on the coastal regions of South Africa this year.
Varietal: Zinfandel
The mild tannins and fresh, sweet fruit flavors of Zinfandel grapes and the wines they produce have made them a firm favorite around the world. For people looking for wine which carries simple but pleasant, uncomplicated but refreshing flavors and aromas, Zinfandel is ideal. As such, it has become a widely planted grape across the New World, despite it having origins in southern Europe. These thin-skinned grapes grow in large, tight bunches are surprisingly delicate and sensitive to climatic conditions – if they get too hot, they are likely to shrivel on the vine, and being a tightly packed bunch, Zinfandel grapes are also prone to rot and decay. However, their mild flavor and sugar-rich juices offer vintners an opportunity to show off their skill and expertise, and are a fantastic grape for demonstrating the features of the terroir they are grown on in the bottle.
Region: California
Since the 18th century, California has been a hugely important and influential wine region, acting as a trailblazer for other New World wine regions and utilizing an important blend of traditional and contemporary practices, methods and techniques relating to their wine production. Split into four key areas – the North Coast, the Central Coast, the South Coast and the Central Valley – Californian wineries make the most of their ideal climate and rich variety of terrains in order to produce a fascinating range of wines made with a long list of different fine grape varietals. Today, the state has almost half a million acres under vine, and is one of the world's largest wine exporters, with Californian wines being drunk and enjoyed all across the globe.
Country: United States
For three hundred years now, the United States has been leading the New World in wine production, both in regards to quantity and quality. Wine is actually produced in all fifty states across the country, with California leading the way by an enormous margin. Indeed, as much as eighty-nine percent of all wines to come out of the United States are produced in California, where the fertile soils and sloping mountain sides, coupled with the long, hot summers provide ideal conditions for producing high quality, European style red, white and rosé wines. With over a million acres of the country under vine, the United States sits comfortably as the fourth largest wine producer in the world, where imported grape varietals from all over the Old World are processed using a successful blend of traditional and contemporary techniques.
Appellation: Sonoma Valley
The mid-nineteenth century was a hugely important era for the United States wine industry, and it was in this period when Sonoma Valley was first used as a wine region. The earliest wineries which made the wide and flat valley floor their home recognized the potential the region had, and noted the fantastic climate Sonoma Valley received. Alongside this, they understood the importance of the mineral rich volcanic soils and geothermal springs of the region, which would go on to provide nutrition for millions of grape vines over the next century and a half. Today, Sonoma Valley is one of California's premier wine producing regions, and it is widely agreed that many of the state's finest red and white wines hail from this beautiful area.