2021 Peterson Zero Manipulation Red Wine, Tollini Vineyard, Redwood Valley
This RhĂ´ne blend is both serious and playful, starting with dark-toned aromas of black raspberry and dried strawberry layered with subtle baking spices, kid leather and sage. Bright, fruit-forward flavors fill the palate with blackberry, blueberry, strawberry and raspberry, along with just a hint of orange citrus appearing late. The fresh flavors carry an undertone of brown spices, black pepper and just a trace of earthy molasses. Lively acidity and integrated oak provide the perfect framework for this easy-sipping, medium-bodied wine.
An easy wine to match up with carne asada tacos, barbecue chicken pizza, bacon cheeseburgers and so much more.
Jamie Peterson’s Vintaged View
Our Zero Manipulation is blended using 100% Tollini Vineyard fruit, and is the first in our line of wines honoring this great vineyard and farmer/friend to the north. We’ve produced Zero every year since 2000 using old vine Carignane as the dominant varietal, and in 2021 it makes up 60% of the blend. From this core of spicy, zippy red fruit flavors, we’ve added layers of depth, complexity and balance with Grenache and Syrah. Our goal in the blend is to create a wine that is a true bistro wine—tasty, food friendly, full of soul and almost refreshing, without ever becoming heavy. As our original t-shirt proclaimed, this wine is always “easy to use and cheap to operate.”
Zero Manipulation is the winemaking philosophy that we employ on all of our wines. Our definition of Zero Manipulation is using the gentlest winemaking techniques possible to maximize flavors, aromas and the original essence of the grapes from the given vineyard and vintage. The less you do in the course of a wine’s tenure in the cellar, the more of the grape’s, vineyard’s, and vintage’s essence you’ll have to bottle. Every time you do something to a wine, you take out a little of what you started with. We endeavor to share with you as much of the grape’s true essence in every bottle; naturally, sustainably and with a mind to being easy on your wallet.
Specs
Varietal Breakdown/Harvest Dates
60% Carignane / Sept. 28
33% Grenache / Sept. 8
7% Syrah / Sept. 15
Vineyard: 100% Tollini Vineyard
Appellation: Redwood Valley, Mendocino County
Alcohol: 14.5%
pH: 3.35
TA: 0.72g/100ml
Barrel Aging: 21 months
Cooperage: 100% neutral oak barrels
Bottling Date: June 29, 2023 (unfined & unfiltered)
2020 Peterson Old School Zinfandel, Tollini Vineyard, Redwood Valley
An aromatic beam of vine-ripened black raspberry sprinkled with fresh black pepper dances around the glass. The smooth entry soon exposes a peppery spice-laden mid-palate surrounding flavors of blackberry, raspberry, Queen Anne cherry and pomegranate. Traces of oak appear in the dark berry and spice-laced long finish. When first opened, give this wine some time to breathe and share the depth of its flavors. It can also just be quickly sipped as a delicious no-thinkin’ Zin. Your choice.
Such an easy sipping Zinfandel pairs with almost anything, but it particularly shines with spicy baked ziti with Italian sausage and a side of garlic French bread, or lamb kababs with curried sweet potatoes and tzatziki.
Jamie Peterson’s Vintaged View
Old School is sometimes described as our “Easy Drinking, No Thinking” Zin, but don’t let that make you think it’s any less serious of a wine than our other bottlings.
After nearly ten years putting together a value priced Zin blend from various Sonoma County grapes, our friend and grower in Mendocino, Alvin Tollini, let us know he had a mature Zinfandel vineyard coming available, and would we be interested in the fruit. We took the opportunity to create a new wine in our line of Tollini Vineyard offerings that would showcase what juicy Zin grapes from the hills of Mendocino’s Redwood Valley could produce.
Old School has a style that is full of flavor and character, but not over the top. We want a wine that is refreshing and “highly drinkable” and satisfying. The type of Zin you can either open on a weeknight or take to a party without hesitation. One you can think about and savor…but you really don’t have to.
By blending in 10% Petite Sirah and 5% Carignane, we complement the fruit and jam of the Zin with structure, balance and spice, without overwhelming the singular terroir of this special place.
Specs
Varietal Breakdown/Harvest Dates
85% Zinfandel / Sept. 14
10% Petite Sirah / Sept. 22
5% Carignane / Oct. 1
Vineyard: 100% Tollini Vineyard
Appellation: Redwood Valley, Mendocino
Alcohol: 15.2%
pH: 3.35
TA: 0.72g/100ml
Barrel Aging: 20 months
Cooperage: 20% 2-year-old Hungarian oak barrels
80% 4-10 year-old neutral oak barrels
Bottling Date: June 28, 2022 (unfined & unfiltered)
2022 Peterson Mendo Blendo, Tollini Vineyard, Redwood Valley
Best in Class, Double Gold and 97 points ~ 2025 Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge
Dark, concentrated aromas of plum and blackberry mingle with the scent of kid-glove leather. A light, refreshing entry flows in dark flavors mid-palate that continue into the finish. Bright acidity and hints of oak frame the flavors, lending a mouthwatering quality to the wine. Black plum, boysenberry, cherry and blueberry fuse with traces of dried strawberry, black tea, dried fine herbs and blood orange. This blend offers the depth, layers and quality of a fine French RhĂ´ne red, but without the price tag.
Enjoy with hearty fare like seafood gumbo, kale and white bean stew or lamb tagine with green olives and lemon served with saffron rice.
Fred’s (Peterson) Vintaged View
Our Mendo Blendo reflects the two realities inherent in all interesting wines: place and people. The place being Mendocino County and the people (besides Jamie and myself) being Alvin and Sally Tollini, who grew the grapes that produced this wine. Though we would never trade living in and producing wines from Dry Creek Valley, I’ve always enjoyed Mendocino County, its people, and its wines. Mendocino County winegrowing is an important part of my history. I began my winegrowing career in December 1973 as a vineyard worker for Frey Vineyards in Mendocino’s Redwood Valley. We began producing our Zero Manipulation wine from the Tollini’s Home Ranch “Wild Vines” Carignane in 2000, and have produced it every year since. Alvin Tollini is a third-generation Redwood Valley grower and a wonderful person, as well as an exceptional grape grower.
Since 2008, when Alvin first offered me some of his Petite Sirah grapes, Mendo Blendo was created with Tollini Mendocino Petite Sirah at its core. For the 2022 vintage, the blend’s core is split between Syrah (46%) and Petite Sirah (42%), with 8% Grenache and 4% Carignane rounding out the flavors. The grapes remain 100% from Tollini Vineyard. We named this wine Mendo Blendo to reflect its origins with a wink and a nod to Mendocino’s other agricultural crop of note.
Specs
Varietal Breakdown/Harvest Dates
46% Syrah / October 4
42% Petite Sirah / Sept. 22 & Oct. 4
8% Grenache / October 13
4% Carignane / October 18
Vineyard: 100% Tollini Vineyard
Appellation: Redwood Valley, Mendocino County
Alcohol: 13.7%
pH: 3.46
TA: 0.65g/100ml
Barrel Aging: 21 months
Cooperage: 14% new French oak barrels, 7% new American oak barrels, 7% new Hungarian oak barrels, 72% neutral old barrels
Bottling Date: July 24, 2024 (unfined & unfiltered)
2021 Peterson Barbera, Tollini Vineyard, Redwood Valley
As the wine opens, the enticing aromatics that make you want to dive into the glass shift from pronounced tart cherry and black pepper to ripe blackberry with hints of dried fine herbs. A smooth entry leads into just the right amount of vibrant acidity, making the flavors pop. Savor a fusion of dark cherry, blackberry and dried strawberry laced with traces of dried herbs, black pepper, sweet tobacco, loamy earth and lavender. The layers of flavors create a roundness that balances the bright acidity to offer up a lovely, easy-sipper. With so many perfect pairings, it’s tough to just pick a few. Try it with your favorite lasagna with garlic bread on the side, or smoked brisket with curly fries and a range of barbecue sauces from sweet to spicy.
Vintage
The 2021 is our twelfth vintage from this block. As a 100% varietal from Tollini Vineyard, it truly showcases what the grape is capable of when grown in the right location. This wine hits the high notes, with power and depth behind it, and a purity and clarity one would expect from this ancient varietal.
Specs
Composition: 100% Barbera
Vineyard: Tollini Vineyard
Appellation: Redwood Valley, Mendocino
Harvest Date: September 20, 2021
Barrel Aging: 22 months
Cooperage: 100% neutral oak barrels
Bottling Date: June 28, 2023 (unfined & unfiltered)
Peterson Winery has been producing wine in Dry Creek Valley for 30 years and, like most wineries in the Valley, produces Zinfandel as well as other wines. Yet a closer look shows that is where the similarities end.
Owner Fred Peterson is an iconoclast with an old world winemaking philosophy and a reverence for sustainable farming. The Peterson approach is to capture the essence of vintage and vineyard—a philosophy they call Zero Manipulation—with low tech, yet high touch, to produce wines of a place, wines with soul. The evolution of Peterson wines and winemaking accelerated when Fred’s son Jamie became assistant winemaker in the summer of 2002. In 2006, after moving from the tiny red barn on Lytton Springs to Timber Crest Farms, Jamie was given the overall responsibilities as winemaker. As a winegrowing team, Fred and Jamie assess the grapes from each vineyard and vintage as the season progresses, evaluating how the weather, soil and site are interacting for the particular vintage.
At Peterson winery, the winemaking process begins while the grapes are still on the vines. Zero Manipulation is a discipline the Petersons follow to capture the character and balance inherent in the grapes. Zero Manipulation means using the most gentle, traditional winemaking practices possible to maximize the flavors, aromatics and texture of the wines. Fred and Jamie celebrate vintage differences and don’t tweak or homogenize the wine to obtain consistency of flavors, a common practice in mass-market wineries. For Fred and Jamie, Peterson Winery is all about the wines. But if you look a little deeper, you’ll see the heart and soul that goes into every bottle.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MA, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, RI, SC, TX, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY
Barely saw the offering and selected buy. This a a no-brainer for me, all day. I love Peterson winery. I purchased a case of the red blend Zero Manipulation last December and it’s a favorite of mine. In fact, I’m displaying my self-control by only buying one case because my cellar is utterly full. If the Vinter shows up, thanks for making great wines!
LabRat here! I was sent the 2021 Peterson Barbera. I opened it up before dinner. The color was a gorgeous deep berry color. I drink a lot of Barberas but this was different (in a good way). Given the color, I expected something very fruit forward. However, to my palate, it was much more earthy than the Barberas I typically drink. It still felt full and jammy but the fullness was more savory than sweet. Probably not a great description but my thoughts.
I had planned to save the rest for another night since we were having Mexican food and I wasn’t sure it would pair well when I opened it. But given how earthy it is, we kept drinking and it worked very well. This is definitely a wine you can sip but it would also hold up well with any big flavors.
I’m really intrigued by the mixed offering. I have 3 wine club shipments coming in the next month so am on the fence about buying but really enjoyed this one and would like to try others.
Peterson Tollini Vineyard Mixed Reds
2021 Peterson Zero Manipulation Red Wine, Tollini Vineyard, Redwood Valley
Jamie Peterson’s Vintaged View
Specs
2020 Peterson Old School Zinfandel, Tollini Vineyard, Redwood Valley
Jamie Peterson’s Vintaged View
Specs
2022 Peterson Mendo Blendo, Tollini Vineyard, Redwood Valley
Fred’s (Peterson) Vintaged View
Specs
2021 Peterson Barbera, Tollini Vineyard, Redwood Valley
Vintage
Specs
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
not all for sale on winery website, $288/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MA, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, RI, SC, TX, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Nov 2 - Wednesday, Nov 4
Peterson Tollini Vineyard Mixed Reds
4 bottles for $67.99 $17/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $154.99 $12.92/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2020 Peterson Old School Zinfandel
2021 Peterson Zero Manipulation Red Wine
2021 Peterson Barbera
2022 Peterson Mendo Blendo
Previous offer: (older vintages)
10/16/23
Barely saw the offering and selected buy. This a a no-brainer for me, all day. I love Peterson winery. I purchased a case of the red blend Zero Manipulation last December and it’s a favorite of mine. In fact, I’m displaying my self-control by only buying one case because my cellar is utterly full. If the Vinter shows up, thanks for making great wines!
LabRat here! I was sent the 2021 Peterson Barbera. I opened it up before dinner. The color was a gorgeous deep berry color. I drink a lot of Barberas but this was different (in a good way). Given the color, I expected something very fruit forward. However, to my palate, it was much more earthy than the Barberas I typically drink. It still felt full and jammy but the fullness was more savory than sweet. Probably not a great description but my thoughts.
I had planned to save the rest for another night since we were having Mexican food and I wasn’t sure it would pair well when I opened it. But given how earthy it is, we kept drinking and it worked very well. This is definitely a wine you can sip but it would also hold up well with any big flavors.
I’m really intrigued by the mixed offering. I have 3 wine club shipments coming in the next month so am on the fence about buying but really enjoyed this one and would like to try others.