@JusttheBottle It's a nod to the history of the property and vineyard. Built in the 1800's it was a functioning, gravity flow winery until prohibition. It's amazing to think of someone making wine there; processing the grapes on the top floor and storing and aging wine in barrels below.
Monte Rosso is legendary! From It's history to sense of place. It’s where site, soil, climate, and luck come together to give a winemaker incredible raw ingredient to make truly spectacular and age-worthy wines. Happy we could share these with you tonight @JamesTheWineGuy !
@JamesTheWineGuy Most old vine vineyards have other teintuier varieties (dark skin and pulp) inter planted within the blocks. They would make "field blends" and harvest everything together. We have several blocks at Monte Rosso with Grand Noir and Alicante Bouschet mixed between the Zinfandel.
@JamesTheWineGuy Zinfandel typically has larger berries and the color is less stable than other varieties. It showcases spice and red fruits so adding Petite Sirah as a blender provides color, structure, and blue fruit characteristics (blueberry/plum).
Great question Frank! My first mentor when coming to Napa was Mike Martini. His knowledge of Monte Rosso and the wine industry as a whole was so beneficial to my understanding of the wines I was working on (came to Louis Martini in 2006).
@myvinespot It may have been hard to find because the winery was first called called Mount Pisgah which translates to Mount Peak. It was founded by a Jewish grocer - Emanuel Goldstein.
Rattlesnake Zinfandel is a tribute to the crest called Rattlesnake Hill, the highest point of the #LegendaryZinVineyards Monte Rosso Vineyard. It’s famous for the rattlesnakes living among the vines, seeking sunshine by day and coiling around the vines at night.
@myvinespot It quickly emerged as one of California's top ten producers, but the start of Prohibition in 1920 forced the winery to shutter its doors. Like many of California's pioneering wineries, Mount Peak was abandoned to the elements, a true ghost winery never to reopen.
@myvinespot The original name of the Ghost Winery was Mount Peak. It was a three-story, gravity-flow winery was built from the rocks pulled from the dry-farmed Monte Rosso Vineyard.
Is it strange to love the label almost as much as the wine? The Mount Peak 2017 Rattlesnake Zinfandel is so complex & intense...I'm loving the flavors like cherry, licorice, and pepper. But the label art is beautiful too!
@winemakermark#LegendaryZinVineyards#GrillingWithZin
@DrinkWhatULike Strangely enough, I've never had that pairing. I think rattlesnake is pretty bony and would suggest something a littler easier to eat 😆