Kenwood Vineyards

10 YEAR OLD ZINFANDEL RECEIVES HIGH HONORS

In March, several California Zinfandels from the 1994 and 2004 vintage were blind-tasted in the Wine Spectator’s Napa office. Our 2004 Jack London Vineyard Zinfandel showcased extreamly well and received a 92 rating in the June 30, 2014 issue of the magazine.

Located in the heart of the Sonoma Valley, Kenwood Vineyards is dedicated to producing premium wines truly representative of Sonoma County’s world-class vineyards.

Kenwood Vineyards was established in 1970 in the former Pagani Brothers Winery, a historic cellar dating back to 1906. Thoroughly refurbished and modernized, the facility now boasts more than 125 stainless steel fermenting tanks and large oak uprights, and 17,000 small French and American oak barrels, all devoted to Kenwood Vineyards’ “small lot” style of winemaking.

In addition to the 23-acre vineyard surrounding the winery, Kenwood Vineyards sources grapes from dozens of vineyards – many farmed sustainably, using natural soil amendments and pest controls whenever possible rather than chemicals – in Sonoma County’s best appellations, including Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma Valley and Sonoma Mountain. Each lot from each vineyard is kept separate throughout the winemaking process, enabling the winemaker to bring it to its fullest potential. This “small lot” or “cuvee” style of winemaking also enables the winemaker to draw on an exceptionally broad “palette” to assemble wines that showcase classic character, subtle complexity and superb balance. As a result, every Kenwood Vineyards wine – whether Vintage Wine Series, Sonoma Series, Reserve, Jack London Vineyard or Artist Series – is consistent in quality and consistently delicious.

At Kenwood Vineyards, we intend to produce high quality wine for many years to come.  By employing sustainable agriculture techniques, which promotes agricultural practices that allow the minimal use of pesticides in the vineyard, we can sustain both the livelihood of our vineyards as well as the quality of our wine. 

Although our vineyards are not organic, where no manmade substances are used in the practice of growing grapes, they all follow sustainable grape growing, which provides much of the benefits of organic farming, with less risk, lower energy usage, and at a lower cost of labor.  In our vineyards, we use only what is necessary to encourage the development of a natural vineyard ecosystem with predatory insects to help combat grape pests, which not only helps the environment, but allows us to be economically sustainable as well.

Because we source our grapes from a wide range of vineyards, the farming methods used throughout our properties may vary.  For example, at Kenwood Vineyards, about 40% of the grapes we use to make our wine are grown on our estate vineyards, which all use sustainable agriculture techniques and where an absolute minimum of manmade chemicals are used in the vineyards.  The rest of the grapes come from trusted growers from all over Sonoma County.

At Kenwood Vineyards, we strive to consistently produce delicious, award-winning wines.  Having a diverse source of quality grapes gives us flexibility in doing so, making it even more imperative that sustainable practices are followed.  Ultimately, maintaining the integrity of our vineyards, thereby the quality of the wine, is our top priority.