Frog’s Leap Zinfandel, Napa Valley

Description

Frog’s Leap Zinfandel is a premium Napa Valley Zinfandel. Frog’s Leap Winery is famous for making its Zinfandel in a more restrained, Old World-inspired style compared to many California producers. Their aim is for freshness, balance and elegance, and to produce a wine that is capable of ageing gracefully. It is dry-farmed and 100% organic.

Frog’s Leap Zinfandel Vineyards

The grapes for the Frog’s Leap Zinfandel are sourced from the St. Helena AVA, which is around five miles north of the winery in Rutherford. The majority of grapes come from just two vineyards: White Barn and Molinari, both of which sit in the gravel soils of the large alluvial fan that characterises the appellation. There are also grapes from three other vineyards:

• 50% White Barn vineyard, St. Helena
• 33% Molinari vineyard, St. Helena
• 8% Gonzalez vineyard, St. Helena
• 5% Galleron vineyard, Rutherford
• 4% Pesch vineyards, Rutherford

Frog’s Leap Zinfandel Winemaking

• The 2022 is a blend of 85% Zinfandel, 14% Petite Sirah and 1% Carignan.
• The Petite Sirah was picked a few days before the Zinfandel and cold-soaked as an entire lot.
• Once the Zinfandel was picked and began fermenting, the two varieties were combined into a co-fermentation
• Co-fermentation benefits:
  • This cools down the fermentation for a smoother, more gentle flavour extraction
  • The Petite Sirah adds “bones” to the Zinfandel (tannin and acid) dnd paradoxically makes the Zinfandel taste more like itself.
• 5% if the wine is aged in new oak
• 60% is aged in small concrete cubes
• The concrete ageing provides freshness and tempo despite the tannic, weighty character of the vintage

Frog’s Leap Winery: Founded in 1981

Family-owned Frog’s Leap Winery was founded by John Williams and Larry Turley in 1981 on a spot along Mill Creek known as the Frog Farm. The first wine released in 1982 was a Sauvignon Blanc made with grapes bought from Spottswoode. Larry Turley would eventually sell his share in Frog’s Leap to the Williams family in 1993, setting up as Turley Wine Cellars at the Frog Farm site, leaving the Williams family looking for a new home.

The Move to Rutherford AVA

In 1994, the winery moved to the historic Red Barn with 31 acres of vines in the heart of the Rutherford AVA, a sub-appellation of the Napa Valley. This move was pivotal for the development of Frog’s Leap wines, allowing them to control their own farming practices and establish themselves as a Rutherford winery. Over the years, additional vineyards were acquired, including the historic Rossi Ranch, just a few miles from the Red Barn, in 2007.

John’s son, Rory, formally joined the company in 2012 and was appointed Vice President of Winemaking and Viticulture in 2021. By utilising the finest organically dry-grown grapes from Napa Valley and employing traditional winemaking techniques, Frog’s Leap aims to produce wines that authentically reflect the “Rutherford Dust” soils and climate from which they originate.