A cross between Grenache and Petit Bouschet, created in France by Henri Bouschet in the 1880s, Alicante Bouschet adds color, tannin, and texture to our field blend with spicy black raspberry flavors and notes of licorice. Unlike most red grapes, Alicante Bouschet has red flesh which supplements the color that comes from its thick skin. Its abundance of color made it very popular among home winemakers during Prohibition.

A grape from Spain, and the most-planted variety in France, Carignane adds acid and tannin, aromas of violets and roses, and flavors of blackberry and blueberry to the field blend. A later ripener than Zinfandel, it is more prevalent in field blends in warmer areas like Dry Creek and Alexander Valley.

From the south of France, Cinsaut adds softness and bouquet to the field blend.

Spain’s most widely-planted red grape and the second most planted grape in France, Grenache adds fruitiness to the field blend.

Formerly known as Pinot St. George in California, Negrette comes from the south of France near Toulouse. It adds strawberry, blackberry, and cherry notes to the blend.

In the 1820s Henri’s father, Louis Bouschet, created this variety by crossing Aramon and Teinturier du Cher. It was very popular until supplanted by Alicante Bouschet. It has similar flavors, but its red flesh is not quite as red as Alicante’s. In the 1880s, Alicante Bouschet was in such demand and was so expensive, that nurseries required growers to take some Petit Bouschet along with it.

A cross of Syrah and Peloursin (Gros Béclan) propagated in France around 1880 by Francois Durif. It is called Durif in France, but it is hard to find any growing there. Petite Sirah is very often found in old Zinfandel vineyards in California. It provides “backbone” to the field blend. It adds color, tannin, blackberry flavors and notes of pepper and spice. It thrives in California’s dry summers but, because of its tight cluster and thin skin, it would not fare well in the summer rains of Europe.

The only Italian grape in our field blend, Sangiovese was added to the vineyard in 1950 by A. Rafanelli when he replanted part of the vineyard. It adds acidity, black cherry flavors, and aroma to the blend.

Another French grape, from the northern Rhone Valley, Syrah adds color and peppery notes to the blend.

A variety from the Jura area in eastern France, Trousseau adds body, cranberry and cherry flavors, and spice to the field blend. In the 1880s, Charles Wetmore, a leading California viticulturalist, recommended adding Trousseau to a field blend for its “preservative qualities.” The grape is known as Bastardo in Portugal, where it is used to make port.

Alegría, our vineyards’ name, is a Spanish word that means joy and happiness.

A successful immigrant in the Horatio Alger style, Zinfandel was not well known and got no respect in Europe. It emigrated to the U.S. in the 1820s to start anew and, like many immigrants, changed its name. It was worked for several years as a table grape in New York and Massachusetts before coming west around the time of the Gold Rush. In California it found enormous success. It quickly became California’s predominant wine grape, a position it held for a hundred years. Until recently, its exact European origin remained a mystery. We now know that it came from Croatia where a few vines were recently found. There it is called “Crljenak”, a name that simply means “red grape’. (It was also recently learned that before leaving for the New World Zinfandel fathered another grape, Plavac Mali, which is now Croatia’s most important wine grape.)