A Journey to Rockpile

A little history of Mark Trione’s most treasured place: Flatridge Ranch. Trione Winery has been producing zinfandel since 2011 with the name Flatridge Ranch Zinfandel, but the history of the ranch goes back much further. It was named by the original homesteaders, the Pelanconi’s, some of whose decedents still live in Geyserville. Flatridge Ranch is 11,000 acres; mostly mountainous and untouched open land, home to our sheep as well as turkeys, racoons, wild boar, birds and even a bear, all of whom love the grapes. Our 8 acres vineyards are planted on a hillside and dry farmed. We elected to plant this parcel because of the proximity to Pelanconi creek.  The grapes thrive in the soil and climate of the area. The cool, foggy mornings and warm afternoons, along with the sea breeze late in the day make for a nice, well-balanced, high acid, smooth wine.  While Rockpile Peak is located on our property, when we planted in 2008, we were not considered part of the Rockpile appellation.  However, our zinfandel has been compared to others produced in the area. Our Zinfandel is dense in color and has rich, concentrated fruit on the mouth, coupled with notes of boysenberry pie and herbal characters like sage and thyme. We have been working on getting the Rockpile AVA to encompass our 8 acres and are closer than ever. We hope it won’t be long before we can refer to this wine as a Rockpile zinfandel. Fortunately, we have the support of the other vintners in the Rockpile appellation. We are thrilled to be in the company of so many quality producers. Stay tuned for more on that! The Trione Flatridge 2016 Zinfandel is nearly sold out. Check out the 2016 Primitivo as well and do a side-by-side comparison with your friends! Visit our online shop now to get your hands on the 2016 before it’s gone for good. Cheers! Team Trione