Jason James
Jason James of Black Sage brought Zinfandel into production.
Growing Zinfandel in the Okanagan can be challenging, according to James. “Because the clusters are so big and tightly packed, they are prone to rot, especially with overhead irrigation,” he says. “They do much better with drip irrigation. Because of that and an issue with shot or green berries in some vintages, hand picking and sorting and cutting out bits and pieces of clusters is essential.”
Leaf removal is one of the practices used by viticulturist Troy Osborne to achieve 20-30 percent dehydration of the grapes. “When the berries wrinkle up, that’s when you get those really nice, pruney, dark currant, raisiny type flavours with a little figginess in the wine,” James says. “But we have to balance it to make sure it doesn’t go too far. Grapes are usually picked mid-October depending on the heat, earlier if they start to rot.” At three tons per acre, yield is low by California standards.
“I don’t aim for a particular style,” James says. “It’s a matter of working with the fruit we get. In the winery, I go for a little warmer fermentation and a little more American oak, in the 65-70 per cent range. I find that the spice of the American oak really matches well with the spice of the grape and its figgy, dark fruit characteristics. In the final wine, ten per cent of Zinfandel grapes are sourced from the original Black Sage Vineyard.
Black Sage Vineyard 2015 Zinfandel is a spicy fruit bomb featuring supple, ripe blackcurrant and raspberry fruit with dried fruit complexity enhanced by nuances of leather, smoke and vanilla, and silky tannins.