California-grown Chenin Blanc, especially from Napa Valley, has become quite the rarity. As Zeitgeist’s husband-wife winemaking team points out, there were some 2,000 acres of Chenin Blanc still in production as recently as the 1980s, but these days, there’s barely any in Napa at all. They’ve found a cherished source in St. Helena from which to craft this zippy, fragrant, Loire-inspired bottling, and it works on every level. Looking outside the mainstream for “heritage” varieties like Chenin is how you find and deliver value in California these days—and we’re grateful to Jennifer Williams and Mark Porembski for the effort.
Most of the vineyards Zeitgeist sources from are in the Napa Valley, occupying spots on both the valley “floor” and higher up into the Vaca and Mayacamas Ranges on either side. Given the near-extinction of Chenin Blanc within the confines of the Napa Valley, the Zeitgeist team keeps their “old vine” source for this wine a secret, other than to say it is in St. Helena, where soils combine gravel and clay/loam mixtures.
Grapes for this old-vine Chenin Blanc comes from a small parcel in St. Helena was harvested toward the end of September 2022, then fermented and aged in used French oak barrels. The wine was aged sur lie (on its spent yeasts) for a total of eight months before bottling. Even after the barrel/bâtonnage treatment, it is a live-wire style with lots of primary fruit and no detectable residual sweetness. There’s a nice mix of classic Chenin markers like bruised apple and pear along with more lemon zest/citrus notes. Hints of citrus blossom, wild lavender, and other florals carry through to the mouth-watering finish. Pair this with grilled whole fish generously drizzled with lemon.
