William Knuttel’s winemaking journey traverses forty years. Before establishing the Knuttel Family brand with daughter Kate and son Sebastian, he had stops at Saintsbury, which he established as an international leader in Burgundian style Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and at Chalk Hill Estate, producing ultra-premium Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc. Knuttel was Executive Winemaker at Dry Creek Vineyard, where he completely re-honed the styles and quality of their extensive portfolio. He added the Knuttel Family line in 2014 for sub-appellated, premium wines of incredible value.
William Knuttel is a long time resident of Napa Valley. His daughter Kate, a dancer, graduated from California College of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, while his son Sebastian, a cellist, studied at UC Santa Cruz, receiving his BA with a major in Mathematics–both are currently part of the family business. Knuttel’s hobbies range from golf to genealogy, and he travels often to the Argentine wine region of Cafayate. As an avid music lover, Knuttel developed the Napa Valley Youth Symphony, a non-profit dedicated to bringing professional orchestral experience to talented young musicians, and he currently sits on the board of Berkeley Symphony, where William Knuttel Winery is an official sponsor.
The 17th vintage of this delicious Zinfandel-based red blend continues a legacy of wines of great elegance, richness, and individuality, showcasing the magic of blending and its infinite possibilities in winemaking. Zinfinity is our realization of that concept, combining our best Zinfandel vineyards with Petite Sirah and other reds, all wrapped together with extended French oak aging.
Our Sonoma County Zinfinity is a beautifully balanced, densely structured, ageable wine. At its foundation is the fruit from 60-year-old vines in Biglieri Vineyard at the southern edge of Dry Creek Valley, blended with additional Old Vine Zin from the nearby Cartee Vineyard. To these finely nuanced Zins we added concentrated hillside fruit from Windsor Oaks Vineyard in the Chalk Hill sub-appellation of Russian River Valley, and Petite Sirah and Malbec from the steep hillside vines in the Doug Rafanelli Vineyard in Dry Creek Valley, to enhance the density and structure of the blend. The lots were aged separately for twenty months, then fashioned into Zinfinity and racked to French oak for additional aging. Winemaking was similar for all the lots in the blend: cold-extraction of gently crushed fruit, lengthy fermentation with vigorous pumpovers, extended maceration, French oak aging, quarterly racking—and minimal intervention.
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