Region: Sonoma County, California

Varietal: 80% Mourvèdre, 20% Zinfandel

Tasting Notes: “To the tooth,” Al Dente describes the ideal consistency of something when cooked. Breaking Bread’s Al Dente is the perfect light and bright red wine to pair with the food being served in today’s best restaurants or by itself on a summer afternoon. Delicate enough to pair with lighter cuisines – from seafood to vegetarian to the ever-popular farm to table – without overpowering the nuances those types of dishes offer. Full of dark brambly characteristics, dark cherries, blackberries, and plums.

Producer: Erik Miller, founder and winemaker of Kokomo Winery, was inspired to join in California's new love for wines that are lighter in alcohol, crunchy in acidity, and bright in appearance. He had been making wine for sixteen years and with the development of a more traditional brand, had a solid foundation in winemaking as it pertains to microbiology and fermentation science. To be able to take risks and play with unique styles of wine and winemaking is the driving force of Breaking Bread.

Vineyard & Winemaking: While Breaking Bread is no stranger to carbonic maceration, this is the first red wine that is fermented 100% whole cluster. Their other reds are primarily whole cluster but with some foot treading to help release more color and tannins into the juice, which combined with longer time in barrel, makes those wines more ageable. The Mourvèdre for ‘Al Dente’ comes from two clones planted in a 4-acre block on Breaking Bread’s 16-acre estate Mizany Vineyard, which is situated in the famous Cortina Gravel of Dry Creek Valley. It is farmed organically and is currently in year two of Organic Transition through CCOF. The Zinfandel is 100% dry farmed, old vine, head trained Zinfandel from Tollini Vineyard in Redwood Valley, Mendocino County. Coming in at 11.7% alcohol, this wine is surprisingly complex. It sees three months in neutral French Oak barrels and goes through full malolactic fermentation.