We were first introduced to the group of Wilson Artisan Wineries in 2015 when we visited Antoine Favero at Mazzocco Sonoma. We’ve been back a few times to Mazzocco and have also visited a few other wineries in the group: Wilson, Soda Rock and Jaxon Keys. Antoine makes the wines at Jaxon Keys and Soda Rock while Diane Wilson makes the wines at Wilson Winery. The wines at all of these wineries are wonderful.
But, we had yet to taste the wines made by another superstar winemaker on the Wilson team – Chris Barrett.
Chris graduated from California State University, Chico, where he majored in biology and minored in chemistry. He worked as a biologist with the Department of Fish & Game before getting bitten by the proverbial wine bug. With his knowledge of chemistry and penchant for hard work, Chris moved up quickly in the wine world. He was eventually hired as assistant winemaker at Pezzi King Winery in the Dry Creek Valley and became head winemaker in 2007. The Wilsons acquired Pezzi King in 2012 and, fortunately for all of us, Chris is still winemaker there.
We had initially planned to visit with Chris at the winery property in the Dry Creek Valley, but weather conditions changed it to the Healdsburg tasting room. A little disappointing, but our disappointment was offset by being able to meet Pezzi King’s DTC General Manager Erica Otero as well as Tasting Room Associate AJ who did a great job with the wines and keeping us entertained. And Chris was able to break free from winery chores to meet with us at the Tasting Room as well, so all was good.
To call Pezzi King a Zin House would be an understatement. Perhaps a Zin Palace? At Pezzi King, Chris makes over 20 Zinfandels in addition to other varietals. We had the opportunity to taste through several of the Zins on our visit.
2019 Jester Zinfandel – 100% Zinfandel from the Dry Creek Valley. Fragrant white pepper on the nose with raspberry jam notes. Gold Medal at the 2021 Sonoma County Harvest Fair.
2020 Hales Zinfandel – from 60-70 year old vines in Dry Creek Valley AVA. A classic Zinfandel with ripe, red raspberry fruit notes and a long, smooth finish. Gold Medal at the 2023 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
2020 Row 14 Reserve Zinfandel – 100% Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley AVA. Full bodied, peppery style, luxurious. Gold Medal at the 2023 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
2020 Hunny Hill Reserve Zinfandel – from the Monte Rosso clone, these three blocks were planted in 1992 on a steep SE facing hillside in the Dry Creek Valley. Long, extended finish with very lush mouthfeel. Double Gold Medal at the 2023 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
2020 Rockpile Reserve Zinfandel -100% Zinfandel from the Rockpile AVA. Distinct, unique, robust characteristics with smooth tannins and a hint of cocoa. At 2500 ft elevation, the extreme climate of this AVA might just be the best place to grow Zin. Double Gold Medal at the 2023 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
2018 Jon Vincent Estate Reserve Zinfandel – 100% Zinfandel from the Tripi Vineyard in the Russian River Valley, only two barrels were made of this special reserve. As per usual at the Wilson owned wineries, this bottling is one of three named after winery VIPs, in this case the Chief Financial Officer [which got a smile of appreciation out of co-writer Michael, the accountant]. Full bodied with a delicious impression of sweetness on the dry finish. The pewter label from the Ukraine makes the outside as good as the inside on this special occasion wine.
A few final impressions from our visit: Chris is making great wines here and they are worth seeking out. He is very vineyard block-oriented, giving the wines a true sense of place. And, yes, his wines, like the wines made by the other Wilson Artisan Wineries winemakers, get a helluva lot of medals. But, you ain’t seen nothing yet…
Pezzi King
Downtown tastings: 412 Hudson St, Healdsburg, CA 95448
Estate tastings: 3225 W Dry Creek Rd, Healdsburg, CA 95448
Michael and Karen Perlis have been pursuing their passion for wine for more than 30 years. They have had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show them the way and after a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as they possibly could, they had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Michael and Karen do their best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers.
