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> Zinfandel
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Fly by Night ZINFANDEL
Oakville in Napa Valley is well known for it's spectacular Cabernet Sauvignons and many of the icons of the Valley come from vineyards in the appellation. Zinfandel is virtually unknown there with only about a dozen or so acres in production. From the 1999 through the 2004 vintage Fly by Night Zinfandel came from a nine acre block from the 54 acre Pelissa Vineyard, an organically farmed vineyard in Oakville. The vineyard is located just south of Oakville Crossroad and just east of Highway 29, right across the road from Opus One. Grapes have been grown on this land for over a century with a number of owners over the years. In 1990 the Pelissa family acquired this vineyard from BV when it was known as the BV number 9 vineyard. The vineyard was replanted in the 1990s with new phylloxera resistant St. George rootstock. In 1995 a block of Zinfandel was created using cuttings from some of the old Zinfandel vines that were kept in the vineyard. These old vines were probably planted in the early 1950s and have been identified as the White Barn Ranch clone. The first crop from this vineyard in 1999 produced our critically acclaimed Robert Parker 90 points Premier Vintage Fly by Night Zinfandel. Zinfandel was definitely back on map in Oakville! Production quantities have varied over the years from our initial 500 cases of 1999 to a high of 1800 cases of 2002.
Our 2005 vintage marks our first harvest from the new H&H vineyard which is located several hundred yards from the original Pelissa vineyard. It is located on the northeast corner of Yount Mill Road and Highway 29 in Oakville. It is also farmed by the Pelissa family. It was completely replanted in 2001 with identical rootstock (St.George) and zinfandel clone (White Barn Ranch).
Our 2006 vintage is extremely small. Only 986 cases were produced, all in cork finish. With such a small production it did not make sense to bottle in both screw cap and cork finish bottles. Sorry about that screw cap fans! We're planning on bottling all of the 2007 Zinfandel in screw cap now that we have found a suitable bottle.
The Pelissa and H&H zinfandel vineyards are California (CCOF) certified organically farmed, a very difficult and demanding certification to achieve and maintain. Our 2004 Fly by Night Zinfandel is our first wine to be labeled organic. For the 2007 Fall release we are nearing our goal of having all of our current production designated as "organic."
Our Zinfandel is an elegant, well balanced wine. Robert Parker wrote that our 1999 Fly by Night Zinfandel was "made in the style of a classified growth Bordeaux." Decanter magazine rated our 2001 Fly by Night Zinfandel as one of the ten best at the 2004 ZAP tasting in San Francisco.
The little airplane on the bottle is a Beechcraft Staggerwing, the first and in our opinion, the most beautiful airplane ever produced by Beech. The airplane symbolizes a style and elegance that we have tried to capture with our Fly by Night Zinfandel. In the early 90s John and Tracy used to fly off for weekend getaways in their single engine Mooney airplane. That was, of course, before kids!
We currently ship to these states, preferable to a business address: AK, CA, CO, DC (District Of Columbia), FL, IA, IL, MN, NV, NH, NM, NC, TX, VA, and WA.
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2006 Oakville, Napa Valley Fly by Night Zinfandel (organic)
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2006 Fly by Night Zinfandel straight from the heart of Cabernet country in Napa Valley! Our 2006 was the second harvest from the new H&H vineyard in Oakville, Napa Valley. The H&H vineyard, like the original Pelissa vineyard in Oakville is CCOF certified organically farmed. Makes sense because it's farmed by the Pelissa family, pioneers in Napa Valley organic farming. This vineyard is located a few hundred yards from the original. We harvested 15 tons of amazing fruit yielding 986 cases. Barrel samples of the 2006 were poured at the January 2008 ZAP tasting in San Francisco to rave reviews reminiscent of our wonderful 1999. Bright crisp fruit, remarkable balance, and Cabernet like depth and complexity define this Zinfandel as something special. Sorry, no screw cap this year. Vinography rated 9.0 to 9.5 points.
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2007 Oakville, Napa Valley Fly By Night Zinfandel (organic)
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2007 Fly by Night Zinfandel - Oakville, Napa Valley (Organic) This marks our ninth release and is our third harvest from the new H&H vineyard in Oakville, Napa Valley. The H&H vineyard, like the original Pelissa vineyard in Oakville is a certified organically farmed (CCOF) vineyard. Bottled with Stelvin screw caps, this Zinfandel has bright crisp fruit with a remarkable balance and Cabernet like depth and complexity.
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2005 Fly by Night Zinfandel - SOLD OUT!
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The 2005 Fly by Night was the first harvest from the new H&H vineyard. It was completely replanted with the same St.George rootstock and Zinfandel clone (White Barn Ranch) as the original Pelissa vineyard. The 2005 harvest yielded 13.3 tons of awesome fruit. Only 725 cases produced. Sorry, no screwcap this year. Vinography rated 9.0 to 9.5 points.
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2004 Oakville Fly by Night Zinfandel - SOLD OUT!
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Only 633 cases were produced of a great example of our claret style Zinfandel. The Pelissa vineyard in Oakville is the source of all of our zinfandel and is California certified organically farmed. Thus the 2004 Fly by Night Zinfandel is our first certified organic wine.
It is well balanced and is sweet on the front palate and spicy on the back. Black currants, wild huckelberries, and a melting essence of dark chocolate emerge from this full-bodied wine that finishes with a note of vanilla and cracked pepper. WOW!
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2003 Oakville Fly by Night Zinfandel - SOLD OUT!
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The 2003 vintage produced some of the very best Zinfandels in recent history. Produced in both Stelvin screw cap and cork finish bottles.
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2002 Fly by Night Zinfandel - SOLD OUT!
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The 2002 vintage was a classic for Napa Valley red wines. Harvested at dawn on October 9, 2002, this unique Oakville zinfandel has developed a powerful structure that is sweet on the front palate and spicy on the back. Black currants, wild huckleberries and a melting essence of dark chocolate emerge from this full-bodied wine that finishes with a note of vanilla and cracked pepper. "Outstanding, one of their best efforts to date. Score 9.5/10." - Vinography (ZAP tasting January 2005) MAGNUM MADNESS! Only eight magnum bottles remain. Vinography 9.5 -10 points.
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2001 Fly by Night Zinfandel - SOLD OUT!
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Deeee-lishous! Cherry strawberry, chocolate, spice - this vintage has it all. Critically acclaimed. "A nicely crafted effort, this 2001 Zinfandel possesses good structure in addition to sweet cherry and currant fruit and a spicy, moderately endowed finish. If a noticeable spicy oak/vanilla character becomes better integrated, it may merit an even higher score. ...medium to full-bodied, pure well-made Zinfandel..." Robert M Parker, Jr., Wine Advocate October 2003 (88 points). Wine Enthusiast 90 points. MAGNUM MADNESS! Only 2 magnum bottles remain.
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2000 Fly by Night Zinfandel - SOLD OUT!
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Made in the same rich style as our 1999 Fly by Night Zinfandel, thw wine shows intense fruit that is deep and complex. Ripe blackberry, brambleberry and fig with hints of exotic spices such as cardomom and allspice. After seven years of bottle aging it's now at it's peak. MAGNUM MADNESS! Five bottles remain at a bottle price of only $30. Steve Tanzer's International Wine Cellar scored this wine 88 points.
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1999 Fly by Night Zinfandel - SOLD OUT!
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This was our first ever released wine. "A classy, elegant, complex offering made in the style of a classified growth Bordeaux, it will drink well for 7-8 years." - Robert M. Parker Jr.
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