Although there is no government regulation determining the usage of the term, �Old Vines,� Rodney Strong Vineyards wants to avoid misleading consumers into believing the wine is made entirely from vines of antiquity. Neither does the winery want their vines to be considered �naughty� by some future governmental decision on the appropriate age of vines used in the production of Zinfandels labeled �Old Vines.�

�Knotty Vines� is also a tongue-in-cheek reference to those Zinfandel producers who label wines, �Old Vines,� when �Moderately Old Vines� might be more appropriate!

Additional vineyard sources for Knotty Vines range from five to twenty-one year old vines. Rodney Strong Vineyard�s winemaker, Rick Sayre explains, �The bottom line is that the addition of fruit from some of our exciting new vineyards adds character to the blend.�

A large portion of the blend for the 1998 Knotty Vines Zinfandel includes fruit from the Winery�s recently acquired Hubbard Ranch Vineyard in Sonoma County�s Alexander Valley.  Twenty-one-year-old vines growing there, produce a spicy, rich wine, dense in color and flavor and add great dimension to the Knotty Vines.

The term �Knotty Vines� does however pay tribute to the beauty of California�s historic Zinfandel vines.  �We chose a name that describes the rugged and gnarled appearance of stately old vineyards,� says winemaker Sayre.  He adds, �The knots and twists in the trunk of the vine reflect over a century of winemaking in California.�
 
 

The Knotty Vines Zinfandel is part of Rodney Strong Vineyard�s line of Estate wines.  Each Estate wine is either from vineyards owned or under the Winery�s viticulture control.