BLENDING--whether coffee or wine--is both a skill and goal. Choosing the best barrels to blend from a single vineyard is one aspect, but we enlarge the possibilities by acquiring grapes from other vineyards, each with its own terroir. Massimo and I tried many combinations before agreeing on this version. We hope you enjoy it.

SLATER was developed to add to our offerings by blending grapes from other vineyards. We've combined grapes from our own vineyards at Rattlesnake Ridge & Dawn Hill Ranch and added flavors from two other sources: Zinfandel from Madrone Ridge in the southern Mayacamas and a small bit of Carignan from that other famous valley. The result is a classic Zinfandel that seeks to compliment food rather than overwhelm. We think that old style Zinfandel is a preferable style than the more recent sweet, high alcohol, super-ripe monsters. Back to the future.

Gold Medal at 2012 SF Chronicle Wine Competition.
At ZAP 2012, James the Wine Guy rated it a 9.0 in this video.

The label image was refined by Larry Westdal from a Chinese bronze serpent of the Fifth Century BCE that Jane and I photographed at Musee Guimet in Paris.

Our friendly serpent, emblematic of Rattlesnake Ridge, our home vineyard, needed a name. We chose the surname of a friend, who is a great lover of our wines. The symbol above the A in SLATER is a fermata, musical notation for "hold this note at your discretion." Metaphorically, it suggests that you savor these flavors as long as you can.