THE QUEEN OF ZINFANDEL
Carol Shelton has been Mastering the Zen of Zin since 1978. Focusing mostly on her favorite varietal, Carol is a guru of single vineyard Zinfandel. California has been the home world class Zin for over a century, making it the benchmark varietal of American wine culture. Carol & Mitch Mackenzie, her husband and business partner, have sought out exceptional vineyards throughout California including Dry Creek Valley, Rockpile, Russian River Valley, Mendocino, and the Cucamonga Valley of Southern California. Many of her vineyard sources are organically grown and decades old. She develops close partnerships with each grower to ensure her wines maintain and express the unique terroir of the vineyard.
A PASSION FOR WINEMAKING AND A LOVE OF WORDS
Each of Carol’s wines receives its own whimsical and memorable name, echoing both her playfulness and love of words. Her Wild Thing label denotes that the wine is produced using the wild yeasts found on organically grown grapes, while Karma Zin represents the happy results of the giving relationship between grower and winemaker. The appellation Cucamonga is merged with the humongous flavor descriptor for the Monga Zin, and Rocky Reserve is Carol’s nickname for the wonderful Reserve Zin she makes from the Rockpile appellation.
