I’m not usually a big fan of new world wines. Dollar for dollar, quality can be matched - if you think of wine as just a consumer good - but almost none can match the uniqueness and history of old world wines. Then there’s Bucklin Vineyards, with extremely old vineyards planted in a crazy quilt of over 25 different varieties (see map). Instead of glossing over this fact (or re-grafting with all Zinfandel), the owners decided to take this lemon of a vineyard and make lemonade. I’m going to be on the West Coast this summer and will make it a point to try this wine. And not only is the vineyard unique, Old Hill Ranch ~ Zinfandel hits at my Pavlovian wine geek conditioned responses - organic viticulture with minimal intervention winemaking - yes, I want to try this wine!

I first found out about Bucklin Vineyards on Uber wine blogger Tom Wark’s FERMENTATION. He took these photographs recently, which is remarkable since I imagine him to be at the computer most of the time. He’s a force of nature, writing at least one article a day, all well written with a heavy dose of opinion and humor. If you haven’t checked out FERMENTATION yet, I suggest you do so NOW - judging by Tom’s picture on the masthead it looks like he may just kick your ass if you don’t.

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