Robert Biale, Party Line Zinfandel 2022

Fruity nose of black cherries, raspberries, strawberries balanced with crushed dried herbs,
Wood and a touch of spiciness. Delicate palate of brambles, plums and blade mace. Soft tannins, good acidity and restrained. 

Country: USA  Region:  California, Napa Grape: Zinfandel
ABV: 14.8%   Bottle Size: 75cl 

Additional Information: ‘Party Line’ is a reference to California’s wine-growing families who used to use shared phones called ‘party lines’, common in rural areas. 

Napa’s booming wineries had collapsed during Prohibition, however 1937, four years after the repeal of Prohibition at the tail end of the Great Depression, Pietro Biale planted Zinfandel vines among all his other produce on his new ranch on the valley floor.

When Pietro suddenly died in 1942, his widow and 13-year-old son, Aldo continued the farming of walnuts, prunes, Zinfandel, other fruits and vegetables, as well as a lot of white leghorn chickens. 

In order to supplement the ranch income, Aldo learned to make wine from his Uncle Angelo and started to secretly sell jugs of Zinfandel to friends and neighbours. The sale of alcohol was heavily regulated and any violation of federal, state, or local regulations was severely punished. The Biale’s phone was a party line, where anyone could listen in on conversations and so Aldo used a code name of ‘Gallina Nera–Black Chicken’ to refer to his wine.  A name still retained today for the family’s prized cuvee of Zinfandel. 

Grapes hand-harvested August 19th to September 15th 2023, were sorted in the field and sorted again at the winery where grapes are destemmed and fermented in open top tanks with gentle punch downs two to three times per day before being pressed, and undergoing malolactic fermentation in 100% French oak barrels and then aged for 10 months in barrel.

The 2022 Party Line is sourced from family growers, frequently farming for multiple generations, in Solano, Contra Costa, and Sonoma Counties.