Slow Dance, Oasis 2023

Style Red Wine

Vintage 2023

Country USA

Region California

Sub-Region Sonoma County

Producer Slow Dance

Grape Variety Zinfandel

The vineyard behind “Oasis” is quite in fact an oasis. Tucked just off of the Gravenstein Highway before entering downtown Sebastapol, the Zander vineyard is an own rooted and head trained Zinfandel vineyard planted in 1924.

While renovating the house that sits close by, the current owner knocked down a wall only to find that there was a hidden room within it. The room contained an old still and jugs used for distillation. The act of hiding alcohol in walls was actually quite common at the time. Some sheriffs knew how to find these hideaways but most often they were left untouched. 

Today the vineyard remains a beautiful relic of this time. Dry farmed, untilled, and scattered with growing oak trees, the current owner hopes to see nature takeover and eventually let the vineyard become what it becomes. Typically not an area for Zinfandel, the site is incredibly sandy and rarely hot, making it a tricky site to get ripe grapes. The 2023 vintage was picked late into October. 

After harvest, the grapes were hand destemmed and macerated until the wine went dry. The wine spent just over a year in barrel before bottling.

-Organically farmed Sebastapol Zinfandel

-Dry farmed, nothing added during the winemaking process