Lighter in color, it has an almost Old World Pinot aromatic and flavor, laced with cinnamon and spice, and really finishes with amazing length and volume.

In the first several vintages it was always a blend, but today we let Syrah be the driver, and it generally comes in around 60% Syrah.

I call it the Paso Rhone (substituting the Zinfandel for Syrah). It’s exotic, fruit driven, and really quite seductive.

We like adding Counoise because it adds a little bit of lift, finesse, elegance to the dark chocolate, coffee, and earthiness of our Syrah.

I strive to make a blend that is crisp, dry, has nice acidity, and allows the fruit to stand out. Generally I do a co-fermentation, but more specifically, a progressive fermentation. In other words, I keep adding the varietals as they are harvested to the existing tank that is already fermenting.

The resulting wine is dry, high in acidity, crisp, and fruit forward.