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Mission Codename: The Burly Brawler

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Return to Operative favorite, Peterson Winery and acquire an allocation of the latest vintage of their highly coveted Shinbone, a stunning blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignane and Petite Sirah.

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Peterson Winery

Wine Subject: 2008 Shinbone Shiraz Blend

Winemaker: Jamie Peterson

Backgrounder: Peterson Winery has become a true favorite of The Wine Spies and its Operatives. We are consistently impressed with the wines that are produced by the father and son team of Fred and Jamie Peterson. Today marks the third successive vintage that we have featured here. Peterson’s Shinbone blend is always exceptional, and always among the most popular Peterson wines that we feature.

Shiraz, while genetically the same as Syrah, this grape adopts its local character and Terroir to become distinctly Dry Creek in style. Incidentally, the name Shiraz comes from the capital of Fars (Persia) even though this grape traces its roots back to French breeding.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Like the prior two vintages of this wine, the color is a dark and rich-looking purple. Where this wine differs, though, is in its core – which is darker, but perfectly clear. After spinning the wine, tightly-packed tears move very slowly down the wall of the glass.

Smell – Bold ripe blackberry and and black cherry are first to greet you. These are followed by black licorice, dark plum, cedar and green tobacco leaf. After the wine enjoys some time in the glass, soft spice and woodsy aromas emerge.

Feel – Smooth but quickly dry on the attack, this wine introduces an instant mineral dryness that expands outward from the mid-palate. Firm tannins and balanced acids drive the fruit and minerality long into the softly spiced finish.

Taste – Dark and juicy with ripe blackberry, tart cherry and plum. These flavors lead to layers licorice, soft exotic spice, tobacco leaf, cigarbox and a touch of mineral-laden chocolate.

Finish – Long and lingering, with dark fruit giving way to red fruit and, eventually, chocolate, spice and dark minerals at the tail end.

Conclusion – Peterson Winery is on its way to becoming our most frequently-featured small California winery. This is testament to the superb quality and consistency of their wonderful wines. Today marks the third successive of their super-value Shinbone Shiraz Blend, a wine that we keep returning to each year – because we love it!. Today’s wine, Peterson’s 2008 Shinbone is every bit as delectable as its predecessors. This vintage shows more brightness and and very different spice component than past vintages, and the fruit really shines through. This is a juicy wine with plenty of character, built in the roll up your sleeves Aussie Shiraz style. Enjoy this wine with anything Barbecued, or all on its own. Cheers to Jamie and Fred Peterson, for delivering another stunning vintage of their very popular Shinbone!

Mission Report:

WINEMAKER INTEL BRIEFING DOSSIER

SUBJECT: Jamie Peterson

DATE OF BIRTH: March 20, 1981

PLACE OF BIRTH: Saratoga, CA (Mt. Eden Vineyards)

WINE EDUCATION: Ongoing, on-the-job. UC Davis Extension chemistry/lab analysis/viticulture classes.

CALIFORNIA WINE JOB BRIEF: Grew up in Peterson Winery, helping with odd jobs in the winery and vineyard as a teenager. Worked first harvest at 19, and then traveled to Australia and New Zealand to work harvest in 2001. took over as Assistant Winemaker at Peterson Winery in 2002. Given full Winemaker responsibility in 2006. 13 harvests under the belt at age 29.

WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY: “Zero Manipulation”/Minimal intervention, letting the vineyard and vintage show through in each bottling. No fining, no filtration. Minimal new oak usage, minimal additions and SO2 use.

SIGNATURE VARIETAL: Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel (but his Syrah is amazing)

WINEMAKER QUOTE: ”If it ain’t got the root, it ain’t got the fruit.”

FIRST COMMERCIAL WINE RELEASE: For Peterson Winery- 1991. For Jamie- 2002 Vintage, released in 2004

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WINEMAKER INTERVIEW

AGENT RED: Greetings, Jamie. We are thrilled to be showing your 2007 Syrah, today. We love the wine!! Thanks so much for taking some time to answer questions for our Operatives today. And, thanks for making such amazing wines!

JAMIE: As always, it’s great to be back with The Wine Spies.

RED: Was there a specific experience in your life that inspired your love of wine?

JAMIE: It’d be hard to pick one. Growing up with the sights, sounds, and smells of the winery and vineyards, there were many inspirational moments. But I didn’t think I’d be getting into the life of wine as deeply as I have until I worked harvests in 2001 in Australia and New Zealand. Working closely with other winemakers and seeing the international wine community and how it ties people together made me decide to come back to the family winery and join full time in 2002.

RED: And where did you learn the most about winemaking?

JAMIE: From my father, growing up in the winery, and learning on the job.

RED: What is your winemaking style or philosophy?

JAMIE: I believe that vineyard and vintage driven wines are the only reason for small wineries to exist. I prefer wines from different vintages to reflect the growing season (otherwise why put the vintage on the bottle?) rather than use additives (acid, tannins, enzymes, gum arabic, overblown new oak, etc) or technological processes (filtration, alcohol removal, micro-oxygenation) to create wines that taste the same each year. I don’t filter or fine our wines, and I predominantly use native yeast fermentations and malo-lactics, so we have to keep things clean and monitor closely, as we don’t choose to use the tools for fixing mistakes that some wineries do. We source from the same vineyards each year, so there is a thread of continuity running through vintages. Our vineyards are sustainably farmed, with a few certified organic, and a number of others dry-farmed.

RED: What wine or winemaker has most influenced your winemaking style?

JAMIE: I’m inspired by European vintners who have made wines from the same places for generations, and haven’t succumbed to commercialism.

RED: How long have you been making wine?

JAMIE: 2002 was my first full year of working with wines from grape to bottle. 2000 was the first full harvest I worked with my father. At 29, I have 13 harvests under my belt (including working in both Australia and New Zealand in 2001).

RED: Who do you make wine for?

JAMIE: I make wines for my own tastes, and then we find enough people that share our ideas and style to buy it. We don’t normally submit our wines for scoring or competitions, and instead rely on word of mouth and community to find enough supporters.

RED: Tell me, what makes the Dry Creek Vallley so special?

JAMIE: The Dry Creek Valley features and amazing array of soil types and exposures for such a geographically small area, leading to a diverse range of flavors and subtleties in wines, for many different varietals, or even of the same varietal. This is why we make multiple single-vineyard Zinfandels, and it also helps us make wines with complex flavors from blending from different parts of the valley, such as the Shinbone.

RED: What is one piece of advice that you would give to someone that is considering a career as a winemaker?

JAMIE: Realize that winemaking is both simple and complicated. It’s all just fermented grape juice, but it’s all about the details; every minute little thing you do or don’t do to the grapes or wine will affect how it turns out. Taste as much as you can and think about who you will be making wine for.

RED: What is occupying your time at the winery these days?

JAMIE: We’re about 35% through bottling our beautiful 2009 red wines, and keeping an eye on the intense, slowly developing 2010 wines. Bud break is getting underway in the vineyard, so we’re hoping for a frost free spring and a good start to the growing season. We’ll be on the road a bit, visiting our friends and customers in Iowa, Wisconsin, New York, and perhaps Chicago and Minnesota.

RED: Please tell me a little bit about the wine we are featuring today

JAMIE: The Shinbone was born out of a progression of influences and events coming together. Both my father and I have spent time in wineries in Australia, where Shiraz is king (or duke… since Cabernet Sauvignon is probably really “king” everywhere…), and they create some very nice blends with it. In 2006, our grapegrowing neighbor and friend Dave Olson had some Syrah grapes he was looking to sell that made more of the soft, fruity “Shiraz” style wine than we were getting from our own mountain vineyard, and we jumped at the chance to take the fruit. The resulting wine inspired us to try blending with the darker, structured hillside Cab, and the blend was born. The Shinbone label was an idea our designer, Chris Blum, had been working on, and we felt it fit the wine perfectly with the strong yet fun image and style. The 2008 we wanted to further add complexity and nuance and blended some old vine Carignane and dry farmed, hillside Petite Sirah.

RED: What is your favorite pairing with today’s wine?

JAMIE: This wine is perfect with something off the ‘barbie (BBQ); Smoked ribs, with a tangy sauce. We describe this wine as a bit of “yin and yang, sweet and sour” wine, with sweet fruit from the Shiraz, and nice tangy acidity from the Cabernet.

RED: Please share one thing about yourself that few people know

JAMIE: I like to go mushroom hunting (for chanterelles and porcini), even though as a teenager I accidentally picked and ate Death Cap mushrooms.

RED: What is your favorite ‘everyday’ or table wine?

JAMIE: Zinfandel is the wine I seem to open the most often of our own, but I also drink a lot of Rhone wines.

RED: How would you recommend that people approach your wines, or wine in general?

JAMIE: So many people look for the “best” wine. I always ask them “best for what?” Every wine has a place and time for appreciating (unless it just is a wine that really sucks…), and it’s more important for people to figure out what types of wine they like, and why, than what others think is the best. Trust your own palate rather than what a critic or others say.

RED: Thank you so much for your time. We learned a lot about you – and about your wine. Keep up the great work, we are big fans!

JAMIE: Thanks for having me, and for appreciating and featuring our wines!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Peterson Winery can be seen in this satellite photo.