ZD Wines Book Club

Move over Oprah. Granted, she may be the greatest force in publishing today, but look out because the fast-expanding book club at ZD Wines is here to stay. Although we may not have the power to raise authors from the dead with a wave of our hand, or banish them from bookshelves across the nation with a disapproving nod, ZD does have one thing going for it – community. In this community of authors, photographers, winemakers, locals and visitors a collection of beautiful books has sprouted up that captures the spirit of Napa Valley living. A small but coveted collection, the “book club” at ZD echoes Oprah’s in that each book is hand-selected for its style, distinctiveness and, perhaps most importantly, because it features ZD Wines!

Our “book club” also has another thing going for it – you can enjoy the wines while you leisurely thumb through the pages of each book in our tasting room-themed bookstore. Drink in the photography of Robert Holmes in Passion for Pinot, test your local knowledge with the California Directory of Fine Wineries, spruce up your coffee table with Spectacular Wineries of Napa Valley, or get an insider’s look at the heart of this community with portraits of the winemakers, owners and workers in Napa, Behind the Bottle. We may not be bringing recognized masters to the masses, but we are bringing little-known gems to the discerning, wine-loving people supporting ZD Wines! So grab a book and a glass of wine and join in…

The books in our club make excellent holiday gifts whether they are used as beautiful coffee table displays, as a means for expanding one’s Napa Valley knowledge, or as an addition to a literary collection. To learn more about the books in the ZD book club or to order today, click here. As a reminder, 50% of retail proceeds will be donated to the UC Davis deLeuze Family Endowment for a Non-Toxic Cure for Lymphoma for the month of December.

Wine, Women & Shoe-less

“Hello. My name is Teresa, and I have Shoe Insecurities.” That should've been my opening line at this weekend’s Wine, Women & Shoes Auction held in Sarasota, FL. The weekend consisted of almost 500 women attending wine and shoe pairings, wine tastings, a fashion show, and wine dinners in beautiful homes along the coast. All the festivities benefited a wonderful local charity, Forty Carrots.

At the wine and shoe pairing seminar, I watched women attendees make their way to their seats adorned in amazing shoes, and it was all I could do to steady myself on my well-travelled dusty, but sensible Nine West pumps. Okay, right, focus. I was asked to discuss what type of shoe pairs with Chardonnay. Quick, think! As various brand names – Manolo Blahnik, Fendi, Jimmy Choo, Chanel, Emilio Pucci - danced around my head and whizzed past me- all I could do was pray that no one was looking at my feet! My shoe insecurities quickly turned into shoe envy as the giddiness in the room came to an all time high as women complimented each other on their shoes. Then, I remembered I was really here to talk about the wine. Ah, yes, my comfort zone. Exhale. Maybe I could distract this crowd from looking at my feet by dazzling them with our wines. I launched into the history of ZD Wines, talked about the 2007 Chardonnay, recommended wearing lovely sandals (pointing at someone else’s feet) all while sipping this flagship wine! I heard a few –ohs and ahs, and was getting caught in the moment,and exclaimed triumphantly- “I would like to donate my shoes to the cause!" Hmmm, no takers…..

Darn. I would need to think fast. The next day was the fashion show, and you guessed it, I only had the shoes on my feet. Darn again.

Teresa D’Aurizio
Vice President, Sales

Reminiscing On Our 40th Harvest

I like to describe the success of ZD Wines as a realization of the American dream. As a child, the winery was all fun and games for me. Looking back, I appreciate that my parents were driven by a desire and work ethic that was immeasurable. Starting with almost nothing, both partners and their families attacked all the challenges of building and running a winery while holding down full time jobs. During those ten years from 1969 to 1978, our harvest grew from 6 to 94 tons. As my dad, Norman, liked to point out, that was an annual growth rate of 36%. In those early days, it seemed to me that we would never grow to a sustainable size capable of actually paying a salary!

Today, in our beautiful facility located in the heart of the Napa Valley, we are living the good life. Being careful to respect our history and traditions, we continue to learn and make use of the best new technologies to improve both our grape growing and winemaking techniques. We have been fortunate to build a great team of people that are a joy to work with and add real value to our company and community. Of course, none of this could have happened without the amazing support from our loyal customers.

Looking ahead, we are in a great position to take advantage of new opportunities to improve our company and our environment. We will never stop learning and striving to create magnificent wines and a better world to enjoy them in!

From our family to yours, a toast to you and the American dream!

-Robert deLeuze,
Winemaster, CEO, Partner

Harvest Patience for Great Wine

Well, Mother Nature finally decided to cut us some slack today. After five consecutive days of scorching weather (think 98-105F!!), we have finally returned to a normal Napa Valley weather pattern. It’s times like this where you really need nerves of steel.

The hot temperatures do tend to ramp up the sugar in the grapes, giving the impression of ripeness, however, sugar is not the only indicator of maturity. As the valley began to “buzz and hum” with a rush to get fruit off the vine, we visited our two Pinot Noir vineyards daily. Knowing that the fruit still needed at least another week, if not more, and we stuck it out. It is better to bring in fruit when it is ready to make “great” wine, and not harvest in a panic which often leads to merely “good” wine. It looks like our patience will pay off. So, when will we harvest? This seems to be the question that everyone keeps asking.

Here’s the report: Pinot from both ZD’s deLeuze Family Vineyard and Jim Haire’s vineyard will most likely be picked early next week. The fruit held up amazingly well, and is really starting to taste great. Chardonnay, believe it or not, holds up incredibly well in hot weather (you gotta love Chardonnay for this!!!) and probably needs another two weeks. The Chard from down south (Monterey & Santa Maria) is still at least three weeks away. Our closest Cabernet’s are ZD’s Rutherford Estate Vineyard and Vineyard 7070 in Yountville. Both may come in late next week.

This, of course, is all tentative, as things can change in a moments notice. This is what makes winemaking such an exhilarating endeavor; watching, waiting, tasting, testing, worrying and waiting some more. Finally, the time comes to ask Rafael, ZD’s vineyard manager, to ready the picking crew. Bring on the light boom, our Carneros night harvest is about to begin….

Chris Pisani
Winemaker

40th Harvest Celebration!

We hope to see many of you this Saturday (12 to 4pm) in Rutherford as we celebrate forty years of winemaking. You will be greeted with Hog Island Oysters and a taste of Rosa Lee Gewurztraminer at the door. Older vintage big bottles and wonderful pairings will be shared throughout our cellars.

In our vineyard view room we will be pouring ZD 2006 Chardonnay and and a 3 liter of the ZD 1996 Chardonnay. These two wines will be paired with Olive Oil Poached Halibut with Saffron Aioli. Our 1996 Chardonnay recently won a San Francisco Vintners Club blind tasting against Top White Burgundies including:

First Place ZD 2006 Chardonnay, CA
Puligny-Montrachet, Les Clavoillons, Premier Cru, Gerard Chavy
Corton-Charlemagne, Grand Cru, Albert Bichot
Chassagne-Montrachet, “Boudriotte”, Premier Cru, Ramonet
Corton-Charlemagne, Grand Cru, Albert Bichot
Meursault-Genevrieres, Premier Cru, Francois Jobard

Now it’s time to go down to the crush pad and enjoy the new release of our 2007 Pinot Noir, Carneros and a taste of 1998 Pinot Noir, Carneros from a 3 liter paired with Mini Sage Duck Burgers on Gougere with a Bing Cherry Relish! Sip a little ZD Pinot with live music and a view of Napa Valley.

How about dessert and a little ZD Cabernet? Walk through our cool barrel room to the kitchen for a little chocolate short bread layered with Carmalized Pecans and a Dark Chocolate Ganache both paired with our 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon. Life is good.

We look forward to celebrating with you!

Brett deLeuze
President / Partner

Back in January we received an email from Monsieur Laurent Peugeot, the French Chef from Le Charlemagne Restaurant in Burgundy. Monsieur Laurent let us know that he tasted our Chardonnay at Nobu in NY and was interested in bringing the wine into his restaurant. We let Monsieur Puegeot know that we do not have a distributor in France but our distributor in London might be able to provide him the wine.

Voila! Today we received an email from Douglas Harrison our English distributor. “OK, we’ve made our first export of Californian wines to France. Never, ever could have imagined I would be selling Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to the Burgundians !!!” ZD Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are being served at Le Charlemagne Restaurant in Burgundy. Douglas included a picture of he and Monsiuer Laurent holding a bottle ZD Reserve Pinot with wine glasses in hand.

As our family prepares for our 40th harvest, we are honored to know our wines are being served in both the Country of our forefathers and where Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were first made famous. We thank Monsieur Peugeot for offering our wines at Le Charlemagne and look forward to a time when we can enjoy the experience first hand!

Brett deLeuze
President / Partner

ZD Reserve Chardonnay & THE Lobster

Should you be so fortunate to visit Santa Monica in your summer travels, a stop to the historic Santa Monica Pier is a must. Built in 1909, the pier hosts a Ferris wheel, merry-go-round and numerous retail shops to entertain anyone.

Really though, any food/wine lover will be more enthusiastic to visit the restaurant at the entrance of the pier. Greeting locals and tourists alike on Ocean Avenue is none other than The Lobster! Regardless of whether or not you take a spin on the carousel, you must visit one of the most stunning restaurants around. Serving classic American seafood, guests sitting at any seat in the restaurant or bar can enjoy 180 degree views of the Pacific Ocean while dining on fresh Maine Lobster, Big Eye, Artic Char or John Dory.

For as long as I’ve worked at ZD, a highlight to working the LA market is sitting at The Lobster sipping a glass of wine and enjoying an appetizer while taking in the spectacular view (okay and people watching). Fortunately, now everyone can enjoy sipping a refreshing glass of ZD 2006 Reserve Chardonnay. With high hopes, I made a special trip to meet and taste with The Lobster’s Beverage Director, Mr. Francesco Ferrario. He runs a stellar wine program which ZD is very excited to be a part of now. Not only did Francesco like our wines but he thought with the great acidity and elegant minerality, our Reserve Chardonnay would pair well enough with their food to offer it by the glass! Most recently, our ZD Reserve Chardonnay made the perfect companion with their Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes and Seared Day Boat Scallops with shrimp bisque sauce.

This restaurant is an unofficial historical landmark and serves some of the best seafood in California now along with (in my opinion) one of the best Chardonnays in California too! By the way, ZD is celebrating our 40th Harvest this fall... does that make us an 'unofficial historical landmark' also?

Kendra Gillette

Regional Sales Manager