With twenty-five years to reflect, the following are a few of the things that make Nalle Winery unique:

Consistency of style. So what if we aren’t Bob Parker’s house wine. Everyone agrees that our style has remained consistent. One only has to taste a vertical of any of our wines to be convinced.

Ageworthy, moderate alcohol wines. You must have been living on another planet if you missed the increase of alcohol levels in California wines over the past two decades. Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should. It’s a myth that higher alcohol wines age better. In fact, ageworthy wines are usually lower in alcohol. Our wines have proven time and again to show well at five, ten, and even fifteen years. We opened our 1984 Zinfandel last year to find it still alive and kicking. Always debatable but worth considering is the role of wine and diet vis à vis limiting alcohol levels to the traditional Mediterranean 12-14.5%. Do we hear a chuckle from the back? Long time wine merchant Darryl Corti of Corti Brothers in Sacramento rattled some cages in 2007 when he announced he would not carry any table wine with more than 14.5% alcohol. Go to www.wine.appellationamerica.com/wine-review/425/Wine-merchant-Darrell-Corti-.html for the full story.

Environmental responsibility. For 25 years we’ve pursued sustainability in winemaking and viticulture. In 1990 we built an above ground winery cave with no heating or cooling requirements. We use the lightest bottles to reduce stress on resources, both raw and human. We recycle everything possible: glass, cardboard, capsules, barrels, corks, etc. By now you probably know that the natural corks we use are overwhelmingly more eco-friendly than screwcaps or synthetic closures.

Our Growers. For the past twenty-five years we’ve had the opportunity to make wine from some of California’s best grapes. All four of our growers have been farming for decades. Their hard-earned expertise is as good as it gets. To produce outstanding wine it is imperative for the winemaker to be closely involved with the vineyard. All of our growers welcome our input from pruning to harvest.

The Zinfandel is sourced from three growers in Dry Creek Valley: Our cousins, the Saini family, farm our Grandma Henderlong’s home vineyard; Joe Ramazzotti farms the Carreras vineyard and Paul Bernier farms the Sibary vineyard. All of the vines, whose average age is sixty-two years, are head-pruned/spur-trained, a method dating to the 19th century. Petite Sirah, Carignane, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Alicante Bouchet, Gamay and Chasselas are interplanted in the tradition of early European immigrants to California.

The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay come from Bob and Toni Hopkins’ Russian River Valley Hopkins Ranch. The Pinot is primarily the Swan clone sourced from Joe Swan’s vineyard in Forestville. The Chardonnay is the Rued clone (called the Mendoza clone in other regions) noted for its distinctive aromatics and “hens and chickens”, i.e., variable berry size.

Personal service.We really ARE a small family winery. When you need to reach us, Andrew, Lee or Doug will be there to serve you. We know many of you on a first name basis and even recognize the handwriting of some of you oldtimers. These personal relationships are a bonus for us in a business that is both challenging and deeply satisfying.

Bob Johnson art. If you’ve been keeping your eyeballs peeled while reading Nalle Zinfandel labels, including this year’s Zinfinity, you will have noticed Bobby’s wry, occasionally irreverent (dare we say squirrelly?) drawings dating from 1984 onward. His truly original material is often compared to Gary Larson’s Far Side. Although not related to the SF Giants’ Randy Johnson, Bob’s wish is to chew the fat on the bench with the Big Unit.