Who

Grapes farmed by George and Marlys Aballi. Wine raised by Herrmann York.

What

A red wine from the Zinfandel grape, produced from 10-year-old vines.

The soil is decomposed granite on a bed of clay in Redlands, California.

Half the fruit was placed in a fermenter, whole cluster while the other half was de-stemmed on top. The fermentation took about three weeks to complete. After this, the wine was pressed and aged for 9 months in old French Oak. About 30 ppm of sulfur was added after vinification.

30 cases produced

When

This wine was picked on August 24th, 2024.

Where

Herrmann York has produced a wine from Okneski Vineyard every year since the winery began. The site seems accidentally capable of producing the wine we’d envisioned at the beginning of our project—one that is unmistakably Californian, made from our favorite grape, yet possessing the rowdiness and lithe spirit of the natural wines from around the world that hooked us from the beginning. And all of this mere miles away from our winery in our (adopted) hometown of Redlands, California. The chemistry of the site is always annoyingly perfect, the aromas and flavors, while clearly Zinfandel, are also distinct from other Zinfandel vineyards with which we work. George and Marlys care very much for this property, which was owned by Marly’s mother, Pat, for whom the wine is named.

Why

This vintage marks the fifth year we’ve worked with Okneski Vineyard, the site of our longest running grower partnership with the Aballi family. This year, while battling birds, we ended up picking the fruit quite a bit earlier than we have in previous vintages, and this played up the lightness of the wine. Its closest corollary would be the 2021 vintage, which yielded a paltry 12 cases of wine. Years after bottling that wine, however, the 2021 is showing greater depth and complexity, despite only tipping the scale at 10.6 alcohol. This vintage, while not quite as lean, is reminiscent of that sophomore attempt at making wine from this intriguing site. While it’s too early to say, it almost seems as if, while the winemaking remains relatively constant, some years (2021, 2022, and 2024) are lighter years while others are more concentrated (2020, 2023, and 2025).