From: California, USA
Varietal: Zinfandel
Tasting Notes and Critical Acclaim: The Old Ghost represents the best Zinfandel that Klinker Brick produces each year. An intense nose of spice, chocolate, and botanicals lead to full-bodied flavors of juicy pomegranate and ripe cherry layered with dried herbs. True to the Klinker Brick style, this wine is bursting with acidity and concentrated notes of dark berries and tobacco. Layers of complexity lead to a core of medium tannins with a long, richly textured finish.
“A twinge of bitter oak tannin underlies this Zinfandel—it's absolutely well integrated and gives the a wine a particular point of view. Beyond the oak, find further engaging flavors of black plum, prune, cedar bark, fennel, dark chocolate and nutmeg spice. Allow to open for about an hour for best enjoyment.” —Stacy Briscoe, Wine Enthusiast, 91 points (April 2023)
Pairing: The 2020 Klinker Brick Old Ghost Old Vine Zinfandel is an ideal partner to anything hot off the grill, from steak (see recipe below) to pork to perfectly charred veggies. Other great pairings include barbecue chicken, burgers, and pizza—specifically, this wine would be incredible with anything from Windy City Pie on Phinney.
Grilled Flank Steak With Worcestershire Butter
By Melissa Clark
About. Steve and Lori Felten, fifth-generation grape growers in the Lodi region, continue the tradition of cultivating “Old Vine” Zinfandel vineyards that their ancestors planted in the early 1900s.
With roots in Germany, Russia, and later the Dakotas, the family settled in Lodi, first producing watermelons. Recognizing that the soil and climate were ideal for growing grapes, they began to plant varieties that included Zinfandel, Tokay, Carignane, and Alicante. For over one hundred years, the family has cultivated the land with the aim of producing top-quality fruit. Zinfandel was one of the first grape varieties to be planted in the Lodi appellation, although it had also been established in other parts of California.
Grapes were originally packed in boxes for shipment to the East Coast and Canada for the purpose of home winemaking. In the early days of production, nearly all of the Zinfandel grapes were shipped with the exception of grapes that were used for making wine at home.
By the mid-1930s, grapes were sold primarily to cooperatives and larger, private wineries with a small portion of the production shipped east.
Historically, the vineyards were irrigated by flood or ditch irrigation, and the inability to regulate the amount of water applied resulted in larger yields of marginal quality. In the late 1980s, drip irrigation was introduced, providing the ability to control the amount of water applied to each vine. This resulted in the ability to control the vigor of the vine, healthier fruit, and ultimately, lower yields. With the introduction of more sophisticated vineyard practices, including shoot thinning, leaf pulling, color thinning, and the removal of a second crop, the ability to produce grapes of exceptional quality was realized.
Part of the extended Felten Family includes their winemaker, Barry Gnekow, who is responsible for crafting the wines from the inaugural vintage. Barry, a Davis graduate with over 25 years of experience of winemaking, has a unique ability to bring the best of the vineyard into the cellar, year after year, producing wines of distinction for Klinker Brick.
Another extended family member is Lynne Whyte Barnard, the President of Klinker Brick Winery. Lynne has brought a wealth of entrepreneurial experience to the winery, having owned her own wholesale company and directing sales and marketing for prestigious wine producers in California. She was instrumental in the development of the Old Ghost wine, label design and has been responsible for selling all of the vintages produced to date, developing national and international distribution.
