8 Years in the Desert

8 Years in the Desert.

Dave Phinney is one of the most famous winemakers in California.
You might not know his name, but you definitely know his wine.
Dave founded Orin Swift Cellars in 1998.
Still not familiar?

I have two words for you:  The Prisoner

Arguably one of the most popular American red wines of the early 2000s, The Prisoner is a Zinfandel blend Phinney created in 2000.
The wine became such a big deal that Phinney sold it to Huneeus Vintners in 2008 for a reported $40 million.  In 2016, Constellation Brands bough The Prisoner Wine Company for $285 million.

That 2008 sale included a non-compete clause that kept Dave from making Zinfandel wines for 8 years. As soon as the clause expired in 2016, Phinney jumped back in, working with the grape that made him a California wine star. He named his new Zinfandel blend 8 Years in the Desert.

Note: Zinfandel is called Primitivo in Italy. They're the same grape.

The 2022 8 Years in the Desert is deliciously dark. It smells of dark cherry, dark chocolate, tobacco, white pepper, and cedar. Blended with Petite Syrah and Syrah, it has a delicious gamey, leathery taste. At 15.6% ABV the alcohol is a touch hot, but it’s a beautiful wine that would light up with any meat on the grill. It would also be great with Indian food like Chicken Tikka Masala, which can be tough to pair.

I had the great pleasure of interviewing Dave when I was a business reporter at Fox 5 in NYC. He is one of the coolest, least pretentious people in the wine biz. Dave never thinks what he’s making is good enough, even when it’s better than most everything else.

Add this wine to the "better than most" list.