2022 was on its way to being an idyllic vintage with an abundance of big juicy berries and cool weather until the heat wave! We were able to harvest the Lodi fruit before the heat, but we were not so lucky in Mendocino. Thankfully, the Mendocino Zinfandel made it through the heat spell and rain that followed without causing us any difficulty in the cellar. We opted for no skin contact on the Mendocino fruit, but the Lodi Zinfandel was passed through a must pump to get a little color and red fruit character. We executed our usual protocol of very light pressing followed by 24 hours of settling. We added 10ppm SO2 to the Lodi fruit and 40ppm to the Mendocino fruit (to make sure to suppress acetobactor and lactic acid bacteria). The individual lots were sent to stainless steel tanks that were warmed up for fermentation. The sulfur was not adjusted prior to canning.  This wine was not fined but it was filtered.