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Product Name
Vintage
Price
Varietal
Country
Region
Appellation
Size
Additional Discount
Original Item
2012
$39.94
Zinfandel
United States
California
Sonoma Valley
750ml
N/A
Better Price
2015
$28.13
Zinfandel
United States
California
Sonoma Valley
750ml
6B / $27.57
Similar Price
2018
$41.82
Zinfandel
United States
California
Sonoma Valley
750ml
12B / $40.98
Similar Price, Better Score
2021
$41.11
Zinfandel
United States
California
Sonoma Valley
750ml
12B / $39.52
Better Price, Better Score
2016
$28.00
Zinfandel
United States
California
Sonoma Valley
750ml
12B / $27.44
More Details
Winery
Wonderment Wines
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
California as a wine producing region has grown in size and importance considerably over the past couple of centuries, and today is the proud producer of more than ninety percent of the United States' wines. Indeed, if California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world, with a vast range of vineyards covering almost half a million acres. The secret to California's success as a wine region has a lot to do with the high quality of its soils, and the fact that it has an extensive Pacific coastline which perfectly tempers the blazing sunshine it experiences all year round. The winds coming off the ocean cool the vines, and the natural valleys and mountainsides which make up most of the state's wine regions make for ideal areas in which to cultivate a variety of high quality grapes.
Country: United States
Whilst there are several strains of native grape varietals in the United States, it was the introduction of the European species which prompted the country to begin producing wines on a large scale. Over the past few centuries, experimentation and cross-breeding has produced great successes in regards to the quality and suitability of the fruit grown in states such as California, Oregon, Washington and New York, and the past few decades have seen New World wines from the United States reach much higher standards. Arguably the finest United States wines have always come out of California, where the climate and terrroir is most suitable for fine wine production. The masterful blending of classic grape varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, amongst others including Syrah and Chardonnay, have had world beating results in recent years, prompting many to suggest that there has never been a better time for buying and drinking United States wines.
Appellation: Sonoma Valley
California's beautiful and remarkably fertile Sonoma Valley has grown over the decades to become one of the United States' most respected and profitable wine regions, with wineries within the region benefiting from the superb Californian sunshine, low rainfall and wonderfully rich soils. Because of this vital combination of excellent conditions, the region is able to grow a wide range of grape varietals for use in the production of an impressive array of wines, with many different red and white wine grapes flourishing each year and producing excellent and characterful results. The soils have been enriched by volcanic activity, and the presence of geothermal springs, which make this region a unique one, and very much the beating heart of California's ever growing wine industry.