When wine maker Dave Phinney was looking for a label for his latest Zinfandel blended wine, he looked no further than an etching by Spanish artist Francisco Jose de Goya (1746-1828). The piece was given to him by his educated, and cultured, parents when he was 12 years old. Years later, in 2000, it became the inspiration for the label of his award winning wine, The Prisoner…named after Goya’s etching, La Petite Prisonier.
I spoke with Bryan Dante Sandoli, long time general manager at Phinney’s Orin-Swift Cellars, which makes the wine and is located in St. Helena, CA. ”I met Dave (Phinney) after my wife (then girlfriend – Karen Williams now with Acme Fine Wines) told me about a guy who came into her shop in St. Helena where she was a wine buyer,” he told me in a phone interview. Phinney had produced 285 cases of The Prisoner in 2000 after working for other wineries in the area and needed an outlet. ”My wife tasted it and said, ‘we’ll take it all.’” Soon after that Sandoli met with Phinney and decided to join the talented wine maker. Wine production was 72,000 cases for the 2010 The Prisoner, so their working relationship has paid off.
“I handle a large portion of the business end while Dave is the artist and creator of our products and ventures,” Sandoli said. ”Right now, Dave is in France and Spain working on another project and I assist in keeping things running here.”
Phinney had aspirations of becoming a lawyer, majoring in Political Science at the University of Arizona. However, a love of wines started with a study abroad program in 1996 while he was in Florence, Italy. Bringing his idea and passion back to the states was a bit of a problem since the university is located in Tucson…not noted as the best wine country. After graduation he went to California and started by working on the harvest night crew in 1997 and learned the trade from the ground up. He is now calling his own shots in the business.
“We run a tight ship and control our costs with our small staff of 5,” Sandoli told me. ”Dave chooses the grapes, makes the picking time decision (an art onto itself) and makes the blend. We then work with select wineries in the area where we make the wine.. The model has worked great.”
There are plenty of people celebrating the holidays with a good wine and my recommendation is to share it over a bottle of The Prisoner. I’ve never been good at describing a wine other than “I’d buy that one again”, but I found WineGeeks had the following review of the wine that resonated with me:
“It is a hedonistic blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Charbono, a Kitchen Sink, Grenache and a steering wheel from a ’68 Cuda.”
I’m in. Here’s my review after tasting it, “I’ll DEFINITELY buy it again.”
Lawyers are always wondering what to get that client who is about to do some time in Club Fed for a white-collar crime. My recommendation is to give and share a bottle of The Prisoner with that client and put things in perspective…at least you got your health. The Prisoner runs about $38 a bottle, which is nothing compared to the fees he/she paid the lawyers to end up in prison anyway. For many lawyers in New York, I would recommend buying a few cases.
Happy Holidays!
2 comments:
Thanks For Sharing Such a usesull information.Many People has celebrating the holidays with a good Bottle of wine.
Any time, I usually take Spain Wine, is my favorite.. :) Carnacha
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