Steal today’s wine, while you can.

Duane David Dappen knows his way around Zinfandel, having worked with the varietal in the vineyard and cellar for nearly 30 years since graduating from UC Davis, has made award-winning wines at Grgich Hills Estate and Storybook Mountain Winery - where he learned how to make fantastic Napa Valley Zinfandels.

Wine Spies loves to bring our Operatives these winemaking heroes, who produce spectacular small lot wines like today’s from Korte Ranch vineyard in the Napa Valley.

This wine has a dark burgundy color with a gradient that browns towards the lip. The nose has a bouquet of dark black fruit, such as currants with stewed chewed cherry, tobacco, sandalwood, spice and vanilla backing it up. This Zinfandel is nice and rich on the palate with expansive flavors of blackberry, brambles, currant, dried mission fig, with allspice and a surprisingly bright strawberry fruit on the finish. You’ll find it to be well-balanced and approachable, with the medium-body one would expect from a Zin. It fades from the palate quickly, leaving behind a pleasant aftertaste. This is a great wine for a classic pot-roast with all the trimmings, like caramelized pearl onions, carrots, and potatoes.