2019 Wilson Foreigner Zinfandel Del Barba Vineyard Contra Costa County 750 ml

Ageworthy, ancient-vine Zinfandels are some of the most distinguished and delicious wines grown in California—ones like Wilson Foreigner’s 2019 Zinfandel Del Barba Vineyard. Grown on a sought-after century-old site, every single bottle outside the winery is bound for Wine Access—and considering the absolutely miniscule production, our share is a small one. 

Crafted by a hemisphere-spanning duo, Wilson Foreigner’s Zin shows why so many of California’s greatest winemakers are bent on getting a piece of the state’s greatest old-vine sites—ones just like Del Barba. Fortunately for them (and for Wine Access members), co-owners David Wilson and Chris Alheit have already staked their claim. 

Wilson, who grew up on his family's famed Rancho Chimiles site in Napa, and Alheit, a South African—aka the “foreigner” in the winery’s name—found their Zinfandel source south of Napa at the Del Barba Vineyard. It’s located in Contra Costa County, which may not have the winemaking cachet of Napa Valley, but it’s where some of the most historic vineyards in California have produced top-quality red grapes for more than a century. 

The fourth generation of the Del Barba family tends to their own-rooted, head-trained, 120-year-old vineyard, a former seabed heavy in sandy soils. The temperatures and scarce irrigation at Del Barba demand a lot from the gnarled vines, but the summer days that regularly crack triple digits are followed by cool evenings that awaken and sustain a lively acidity, helping to produce an impressively balanced wine. 

This is a vibrant, ruby-hued masterpiece, a classic Zinfandel from a time-tested site. One sip will show you why we grabbed as much as we could, and we suggest you do so as well.