76% Zinfandel, 11% Carignan, 5% Petite Sirah, 4% Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvèdre and other field-blend varieties

Food pairings: Grilled pork, barbecue, burgers, roast lamb, sausages, tomato-based braises, pizza, mushroom dishes and aged cheeses.

Winemaking: Almost entirely fermented with indigenous yeasts and minimally racked, the wine is aged for about ten months in a combination of foudres, puncheons and barriques, predominantly neutral with a very small amount of new oak. The goal is always a wine brimming with lovely fruit while retaining the natural acidity and spice that make Zinfandel such a great fit for California. 2023 was an excellent year across the state, and the wine shows both the freshness and the richness of the vintage. It offers great drinking now but will age gracefully for five to ten years.

Vineyards and terroir: The vines average more than 80 years in age, and about 70% of the fruit comes from vineyards farmed by Bedrock itself. Nearly half of the 2023 comes from four historic sites: Sodini Ranch on Limerick Lane in Healdsburg, a dry-farmed vineyard planted in 1905 at the far eastern edge of the Russian River Valley; the family's own Bedrock Vineyard in Sonoma Valley, founded in 1854 by Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and Joseph Hooker and replanted in 1888 by Senator George Hearst; Teldeschi Ranch in Dry Creek Valley; and Evangelho Vineyard in Contra Costa County. The rest is made up of declassified barrels from vineyards Bedrock farms, such as Beeson Ranch, Katushas', Pato and Mori, with small amounts from Dolinsek, Banfield, Sky and Old Hill Ranch. Bedrock Vineyard is certified Organic and Regenerative Organic, and the same ethos of cover crops, no-till farming and biodiversity guides the outside vineyards.

Winery history: Bedrock Wine Co. began in 2007 in a converted chicken coop on the outskirts of Sonoma, founded by Morgan Twain-Peterson, son of Ravenswood founder Joel Peterson, who made his first wine before he was five. The first wines came from the family's Bedrock Vineyard and Teldeschi Ranch. Morgan's longtime friend Chris Cottrell, a former New York fine-wine buyer, later joined him as partner. Morgan became a Master of Wine in 2017, and in 2020 Bedrock was named Winery of the Year by Antonio Galloni. The winery is dedicated to preserving and rehabilitating California's historic old-vine vineyards and their traditional field blends, and to making wines that are economically accessible to as many people as possible.

In the pictures: The Bedrock team at harvest in the vineyard; an ancient head-trained vine at Bedrock Vineyard in Sonoma Valley; and the historic Sodini Winery wall at Sodini Ranch in Healdsburg (photos courtesy of Bedrock Wine Co.).