Turley 2007 Vintage Fall Release

Not too long ago at District Wine Bar I was accused by an employee of having "excellent taste, ma'am" (OK, maybe the "ma'am" part wasn't exactly a compliment) when I witnessed him pulling a delightfully familiar bottle, adorned with a maroon label, out from the reserve cellar. What, did you really think ZinfanGirl couldn't ID a Turley on sight?! I love me some zinfandel, and I highly regard wineries which dedicate themselves to producing a continuous supply of this marvelous juice. Turley holds one of the top places on my list of, "Oh my golly, this is what God must drink!" zin-producing wineries.

We are now in the heart of harvest season, which means more yummy wine will soon be on its way. And of course, order forms precede the wines themselves, and their papery presence is nearly as exciting as the bottles themselves.

My heart always flutters whenever we get something from our beloved Turley. We were recently asked to do a recognizance mission to Turley by another winery (who shall remain unnamed); apparently, word on the wine streets is that their last release was not quite up to usual Turley standards. We have not yet done this mission, but I suspect a stop at Turley will be on the itinerary next month when we head down south for Castoro Cellar's members BBQ.

So what does Turley have to say? Sounds like high hopes for the '07 vintage. Two new vineyards, Fredericks Vineyard and Zampatti Vineyard, are located in Sonoma. It sounds like these newbies will be producing my poison of choice: zinfandel. It also appears as though ZinfanHubby & I were not deemed worthy enough to purchase either one. Maybe next year *sigh*

2008 no doubt was a rough year for many wineries, with all the wildfires & ensuing damage. Fortunately Turley was spared from physical harm, but yields were down *gasp* 50%! I hope 2009 proves to be more fruitful (pun intended?) for them.

ZinfanHubby & I always try to order as many bottles from Turley as possible, as the allotments are based on prior orders. I suspect we will be ordering all 10 of our options this year. In addition to being excluded from the newbie vineyards, we were also denied the Pesenti Petite Syrah and the Library Petite Syrah. Well, it's a damn good thing I am ZinfanGirl and not PetiteSyrahGirl! :P

The Turley member pick-up party is in Templeton on November 7th, and ZinfanGirl will most definitely be attending! The pick-up party back in 2007 was a blast. We ended up finding the last few bottles of their rosé in a corner of the tasting room, and snagged a hell of a deal at $16 a bottle! I think we started a mini-riot once our fellow club members caught on to what we were doing. I suspect ZinfanHubby and I will be drawing straws to determine who is on driving duty.

To check out Turley Wine Cellars, or to sign up to get on the waiting list to get on the mailing list (I still razz my husband for saving the postcard informing him he was now *on* the waiting list to get on the members' list), please visit Turley's website.

Cheers!
ZinfanGirl