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Sausal Winery Celebrates Thirty-Five Years
January 1, 2008
Healdsburg, CA - This year, the Demostene’s celebrate the 35th Anniversary of their family owned and operated winery. In 1973, David, Ed, Peachie and Cindy Demostene opened the doors to Sausal Winery. Over the past 35 years these siblings have produced estate wines that truly represent their heritage in Alexander Valley.
Sausal Ranch was purchased in 1956 by their parents Leo and Rose Demostene with the dream of building a family winery. Working together they pulled out old orchards, planted new vineyards and began drawing up plans. Unfortunately, Leo fell ill and passed away in January of 1973 before the winery was completed. His children carried on the vision of converting an old prune dehydrator into a winemaking facility, and from January of 1973 to September the siblings built, permitted and bonded Sausal Winery.
Sausal Winery’s first crush was the fall of 1973, but this first vintage was sold in bulk to other wineries. The first Sausal label appeared on 800 cases of 1974 Zinfandel. Since, that initial vintage other wines have been added to the winery’s portfolio, and production has grown to 10,000 cases.
Zinfandel is still the heart of the winery, producing four distinct bottlings. The original Sausal Zinfandel is now called Family Zinfandel, and is produced from estate vines that average 50 years of age. Private Reserve Zinfandel was first introduced with the 1980 vintage, and is produced from estate vines that average 90 years of age. Century Vines Zinfandel was released with the 1991 vintage, and is produced from vines that have been documented to be over 130 years of age. Cellar Cats Red is a non-vintage Zinfandel made as a tribute to the winery cats, Sophie and Gypsie. Other wines include, estate Cabernet Sauvignon, estate Sangiovese, and two Italian blends that honor their family’s dream: Sogno della Famiglia (A Family Dream) and Sogni d’Oro (Golden Dreams).
This year, in celebration of their 35th Anniversary, Sausal Winery has created ZIN XXXV. This wine is a beautiful blend of Zinfandel from the 130-year-old Century Vines, and the Creek Block planted in 1950’s by the Demostene family. In essence, ZIN XXXV is a blend of vineyard heritage.
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About Sausal Winery
Sausal Winery is a small winery owned by the Demostene family, the oldest wine making family in Alexander Valley. We specialize in Zinfandel from our estate vineyards, making three distinct wines that represent the different ages of our Zinfandel blocks. The Sausal Family Old Vine Zinfandel is made from vines that average 50 years of age, Sausal Private Reserve Zinfandel is made from vines that are approximately 90 years old, and Sausal Century Vines Zinfandel is made from vines that are over 130 years old. |
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