Beverage of the Week (B.O.W)

By the early 1980s every serious Zinfandel lover on the planet knew the name Ravenswood. Joel Peterson’s wines were winning awards at a rate on par with a new Duran Duran video being released (a gratuitous early 80s reference for my contemporaries). While on the surface all was peaches and cream, underneath Ravenswood’s investors were getting a bit anxious.



Clearly they were thrilled with the critical acclaim and the wines produced were selling at a brisk clip. The problem was that Ravenswood’s portfolio was comprised of a collection of small lots of wines made from single vineyards. Even the sum of the whole did not amount to many cases. Ravenswood needed a wine that could be made in quantities to satisfy customers year-round. So necessity met ingenuity with a healthy dose of Peterson’s uncompromised standards and Ravenswood Vintners Blend was born.



In creating Vintners Blend, Peterson tastes dozens of samples from top Zinfandel growing districts in California. The goal is to create a wine that is accessible to most consumer’s palates and wallets. In our view, Ravenswood Vintners Blend is among a small handful of wines that actually delivers on this promise. It is consistently reliable and each time we taste it we are again amazed at how much substance and flavor is packed into this sub $10 wine. Value never goes out of style.