Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/72473
COVER STORY The condition known as shatter (coulure in French) concentrates the grapes. The age of the vines is also extraordinary, even when measured against California's old-vine Zinfandel. "They've only been keeping records since 1954," Gott says, "so the only true assessment is to talk with the vineyard owners. Many of these vines were planted post–World War I and pre–World War II." Back Story Phinney got into wine when he spent a year in Tuscany while pursuing his undergraduate degree in political 52 / the tasting panel / july 2012 science at the University of Arizona. When he returned to the States, he found a professor in the U. of A. agriculture department with whom he collaborated on an experimental one- acre vineyard in the heart of Tucson, while also learning the sales side of the business ("the hard part," as he says) with gigs in the city's best wine shops. After working one harvest at Robert Mondavi, Phinney started Orin Swift Cellars (the name combines his father's middle name with his mother's maiden name) in 1998 with two tons of purchased Zinfandel. Zinfandel was also instrumental in initiating Gott's wine career. Coming from a family that had been involved in the California wine business for five generations, Gott and his brother opened a market in Calistoga in 1993, turning it into a gourmet wine and food emporium. The experience of selling wine at retail convinced Gott that wine that could be sold at a reasonable price point was the future. His winemaker wife, Sarah, produced the first Joel Gott Zinfandel in 1996, and the entre-