Unfiltered Wine Club, May 2024

"Made from 100% Zinfandel, End of Nowhere Phantom Limb ferments via carbonic maceration, meaning that the grapes are placed in whole clusters in a sealed vessel during fermentation rather than an open-top vessel. Carbon Dioxide is a natural biproduct of fermentation, and with an open-top vessel, that CO2 will float to the surface and dissipate. When the vessel is sealed, the released CO2 is trapped, causing the berries to begin to ferment from the inside out. The resulting fermentation is quick, taking days instead of weeks to complete, and the wines are lower-tannin than those produced via regular methods. This process can be sped up even more by pumping CO2 into the sealed vessel to force the berries to burst faster. Hailing from the Sierra Foothills of California, Phantom Limb is a gorgeous expression of Zinfandel, which I feel got a pretty bad rap from the White Zin garbage we all drank in the 90s. This organic wine is light, dry, and fruity with notes of spiced strawberry jam, cherries, and hints of pepper. Its medium weight handles a chill very well, which I recommend, and regarding food pairing - well, your imagination cannot disappoint. Cheese boards, duck and gamey meat dishes, chicken, risottos, and even fish dishes would be great with this light, complex, and impressive California wine."