We haven’t seen a Single Zineyard Dry Creek Valley red from Peterson in some time and, damn have we missed the unique style of one of our all-time favorite producers. We’re henceforth enthralled to be able to offer you today’s delightful 2013 vintage Bernie Zin at 40% OFF, from the masters of Dry Creek Zinfandel and the fruit of an exceptional “Zinyard!”

A delicately braided lasso of purple glimmers around the deep opaqueness provides the strikingly youthful appearance. Huckleberry, blackberry, plum, lavender, white pepper, sweet tea and spice are the aromatics that fill the glass. A fresh fruit core of pure raspberry and lime with juiciness and silky tannin define the palate. This is full-bodied, with a chewy finish that lingers with delightful brambly accents. While patience will be needed, this is the ultimate Thanksgiving companion, think roasted turkey, roasted chestnuts, stuffing, cranberry sauce and the joy it all will bring.

Grower Fred Peterson has been dry-farming and making Peterson wines in California for the last quarter-century. Fred’s son, Jamie, literally grew up in the winery, shadowing his father and learning the craft from a very young age. Fred, who now focuses on growing, has handed the winemaking over to Jamie who, for the last several vintages, has been crafting one remarkable and delicious Peterson wine after another. Originally planted in the 1970s, the 100% dry-farmed Bernier “Zineyard” is a heritage Dry Creek Valley site. Highlights from a superb article below explain why this place and the wines coming from it are so unique and exquisite.

Here’s what the press has to say on Bernier & Peterson:

North Bay Bohemian – Ari Levaux

Dirt Farmer - Paul Bernier’s vines are celebrated for what they lack: Water - Early one morning in September, Paul Bernier prepares for a day of work in Healdsburg’s Dry Creek Valley. He grabs a mortar and pestle, a sugar meter, a sack of home-dried pears and a three-foot-long temperature probe. We pile into the cab of his scruffy pickup, dogs in back, and bounce down the road. We’re going to spend the day working the dry-farmed Zinfandel vineyards he manages. But this time of year he doesn’t call it work; he calls it “goofing off.” … Tom Peterson of Peterson Winery explains how it is that dry-farmed vines produce superior grapes. “The plants aren’t there to make you wine,” Peterson says. “The fruit exists to disperse the seeds. So the seeds need to ripen at the same time that the fruit ripens. In the vinifera [grape] family, the vine wants to grow like hell, above the other plants. When you irrigate the vines, it tricks them into thinking they should keep growing.” When the sugars are where you want them for winemaking, the fruit doesn’t have any flavor and the seeds aren’t ripe, he says. The fruit isn’t physiologically mature. “The nuances that make great wine happen in the last few weeks of the grape’s maturation. If they ripen too quickly, they don’t develop the esters and aromatics that attract creatures.” Also, Peterson notes, the deeper roots tap into mineral flavors from down below, adding to coveted claims of terroir…