Peter Franus’s philosophy and ethos is finding and sharing the romanticism that wine can offer. Peter, like so many of us in the wine trade, love to discover the elusive, ethereal wines. Something magical and mystifying. As such the wines of Peter Franus themselves have taken on this mystical mantel and are the industry’s insider secret from Napa Valley.

For well over 30 years Peter has been connected with the Napa Valley vineyards, people and wines. Meticulously he has built lasting trusted relationships with growers from all over the region, sourcing only the best grapes for his wines. Some might say that Peter Franus is a maverick, making wine as he has done since before the Garage Wine scene was even a thing, with just some barrels, a winery and some damn good intuition and knowledge.

The grapes for this wine are mostly Zinfandel sourced from areas such as Rutherford and the iconic Mount Veeder. There is also a small ‘peppering’ of Mourvedre and Syrah in the blend from sites such as Cobb Mountain, a staggering 3,000 feet above sea level. This, along with Peter’s ethos of delivering wines that will charm, goes into producing a wholly different style of Zinfandel that California and Napa are used to.

The Peter Franus Napa Zinfandel offers a charming, bright and lively nose with blackberry, vanilla, dried herbs, vanilla, and subtle sweet oak in the background. The palate begins with similar flavours but moves toward a black cherry profile that finishes with white pepper and anise notes. Medium bodied and structured, a Zinfandel that unexpectedly surprises!