Instead of releasing this wine as Carignane (or Carignan as they spell it in France) Fred Peterson has chosen to market this variety under a proprietary name: Zero Manipulation. This wine is made from 77% Mendocino County Carignane, 12% Sonoma County Zinfandel and 11% Sonoma County Mourvedre. The name comes from the winemaking philosophy of letting the grapes and terrior speak from themselves with a bit of help from some oak trees. The cynical might think this wine is just a blend of wines left over after the final blends of their more expensive wines but I think Fred and winemaker Jamie Peterson put this together with as much care as they do any of their wines. Thank goodness I can buy this locally (Surdyk’s) as this is now my new house red (but I’ll still pull out Tres Picos from time to time Love the shameless swag promotion on the back label, too (gotta get one of those t-shirts).

Peterson Winery, “Zero Manipulation”, Red 2004 ($12) - Purple in color with aromas of blackberry, cedar and spice. Bold and rich in the mouth with boysenberry and blackberry fruit flavors together with black pepper, vanilla and sweet tannins. A fairly long finish for this price point with good acidity for food. Enjoy with Mexican food or a grilled steak. 450 cases produced.

14.6% ABV
Synthetic cork closure (easily removed)
Score: 88

Buy this wine online

Add to your WineQ