Preston Farm & Winery - Carignan 2019

Preston Farm and Winery is a family-operated, organic property in Healdsburg's Dry Creek Valley, consisting of 125 acres of diversified crops including vineyards, vegetables, fruit and olive trees, grain, and pastured livestock. Husband-and-wife Lou and Susan Preston have farmed their land since 1974, converting to organic farming in 2000, with the goal that their wines retain an authenticity that reflects where and how they grow them. Environmental diversity and avoiding monoculture ensures the health of the farm, with natural pest control based on interplanting of different crops, mixed orchard and vine culture, establishment of extensive hedgerows, and protection of wild areas adjacent to vineyard blocks. Wines are made with native yeasts and zero inputs, except for small amounts of sulfur at bottling.

Preston's Carignan is made from 80-year-old vines that are hand harvested, fermented in open top fermenters and aged in neutral oak barrels. In the glass, the wine shows a lovely deep garnet hue with aromas of blackcurrant and plum complemented by savory notes of leather and sap. The palate shows great mineral tension and fine grain tannins that highlights the wine's energy. A unique representation of this ancient grape in Sonoma.