Limerick Lane Cellars

“An intimate winery experience” describes the tasting encounter at this estate boutique winery specializing in lusty Zinfandels.

At the end of a little country road on the eastern edge of the Russian River Valley is this great little find of a winery. The tasting room was completed in 2003, with large windows that overlook their vineyard. Tile floors and wooden beams accent the room. There is no real gift shop here, as they like to concentrate on the wine. In addition to Zinfandel, the winery makes small amounts of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir.

Limerick Lane meticulously farms their vineyard, choosing to grow head-trained vines (small bushes without trellis wires) using no irrigation. These dry-farmed grapes struggle in the soil made of volcanic rock, clay and shale.

The wines are also made with attention to every detail. Open-topped fermentors are “punched down” as many as seven times a day to extract flavors and allow the fermentation gases to escape. After being pressed and undergoing malolactic fermentation, the wine is stored for a year in a combination of French and Hungarian oak barrels. The wine is racked and bottled unfined and unfiltered. The acid is natural and unadjusted. The quality of the fruit grown at Limerick Lane allows this non-interventionist approach to succeed.