How Did Finney Get The Eight Years In The Dessert Wine Label

8 Years in the Desert : A New Wine from Orin Swift

Wine enthusiasts all throughout the country may not be familiar with his name, but they have undoubtedly seen and tasted his wines. Everywhere you look, from grocery stores to high-end wine shops, you can find them. Even many who are interested in wine and are familiar with his various brands, such as the Prisoner and Orin Swift, are unaware of the guy who is the driving force behind some of the most successful wine brands in American history. His most recent endeavor, eight years in the desert, may out to be one of his most fascinating to yet.

8 Years in the Desert is the first Zinfandel by Dave Phinney in 8 years!

As many of you are aware, the Zinfandel that I produced for Orin Swift was the first commercial wine I ever produced. However, none of you have ever attempted it. Because it was never bottled, none of you have ever had the opportunity to try it. I sold it in large quantities on the wholesale market. Zinfandel, in my opinion, is the most hardest variety to work with in the vineyard. However, when you do it right, it rewards you in a way that is unparalleled. If winemaking is a succession of obstacles, Zinfandel is a vinifera that can meet any and all of them.

It was 1998, and I made the decision to start Orin Swift Cellars with the naiveté that can only be found in a twenty-five-year-old at the time.

• Oops!
• Hence, that was the starting point for my research.
• To be honest, that initial step was more of a stumbling block or a trip at the very least.
• I sold the wine in quantity and attempted to sell it again the next year.
• It was a literal “trial by fire” situation.
• In addition, a heat increase burnt the morning side of the plants.
• There were ninety-nine instances.

The next year, 2000, proved to be another challenging year, similar to 1998.

I continued to make the wine for the following eight years, and then I sold the brand in 2008.

At first, I was intrigued by the concept.

It ripens unevenly, it is susceptible to rot, and it frequently contains significant levels of alcohol.

As a result, I began to plot my escape, much like a youngster who only wants to do what he or she is forbidden to do.

The number of hours and brain cells I lost thinking over possible titles and label art is impossible to calculate.

I woke up because I was unable to sleep.

I scribbled down my “brilliant” concept.

I was embarrassed by the ridiculousness and obviousness of what I had written the night before when I read it the following day.

I would put an end to my efforts and simply wait for anything to happen; in the meanwhile, I would write a novel.

Okay, this is a really short book.

I mean, it’s just cheesy, right?

It is far preferable to be fortunate than to be good.

Some of those vintages are cherished memories, while others are ones I’d want to forget.

Twenty years have passed.

But I adore it, perhaps even more so now than ever before.

For eight years, I lived in the desert.

That time has here.

My relationship with the varietal that got me started in the wine business and gave birth to Orin Swift has been restored.

Orin Swift Cellars was founded in 1998 with the acquisition of two tons of Zinfandel, which were possibly the most important two tons of wine we’ve ever purchased.

What we learnt from those two tons of grapes is that once the grapes are in the winery, there is no such thing as a silver bullet or alchemy.

Probably more than any other cultivar, this truism applies to Zinfandel.

We’ve been able to alleviate some of the predictability by introducing Petite Sirah and Syrah into the mix. At the end of the day, our objective is to grow closer and closer to mastery of Zinfandel with each passing year.

If You Loved The Prisoner (No, Not the TV Show), This New Wine Is for You

Dave Phinney is a master mixes and brands creator who has worked in the wine industry for over a decade. The Prisoner, which he produced in 2000 by blending Zinfandel with Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petite Sirah, and Charbono, was truly the beginning of a whole category of wine: the top-shelf red blend, which he had never seen before (as opposed to that anonymous stuff in the jugs on the bottom). Premium red blends have exploded in popularity as the fastest-growing variety in the United States, and The Prisoner has developed a cult following of its own.

When I was growing up in the late 1800s and early 1900s, many of the state’s vineyards were intricate patchworks of dark red varietals, and the wines produced from them (many of which were said to be superb) were simply known as “field blends.” In the years after Prohibition, which brought a stop to our good wine traditions, we drank largely red blends, and you could say that we had lost our way a little.

• Most of those wines, which were far removed from the original field mixes, merited their containers since they had little to say about themselves in terms of quality.
• Phinney was, in a way, reenacting California history with his Prisoner, a Zinfandel-based red blend.
• However, there were some difficulties in the partnership.
• Because of the difficulties—as well as the fact that he sold The Prisoner brand along the road (invoking a purported noncompete clause)—Phinney took an eight-year break from Zin.
• In the same vein as The Prisoner, 8 Years is a mix made up of 56 percent Zinfandel, 34 percent Petite Sirah, and 10 percent Syrah grapes.
• This is a wine (which is not light on the alcohol front) for fans of luscious California fruit, but it also has tremendous complexity in the shape of gravelly undertones, which add to the whole experience.

8 Years in the Desert, which is available to members in eight-bottle sets ($1,000) under the Orin Swiftbrand, is packed in a Phinney-style out-of-the-box packaging. Each bottle has a unique label that is based on the subject of the Joshua tree. Out of the desert, to be precise.

The stories behind Orin Swift’s quirkiest wine labels

Dave Phinney is a master mixes and brands creator who has worked in the wine industry for almost a quarter century. The Prisoner, which he produced in 2000 by blending Zinfandel with Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petite Sirah, and Charbono, was actually the beginning of a new genre of wine: the top-shelf red blend, which he helped to pioneer (as opposed to that anonymous stuff in the jugs on the bottom). A cult following developed around The Prisoner, which was one of the first premium red blends to be released in the United States.

• Field blends were a term used to describe a variety of wines produced by complex patches of dark red varieties in the state’s vineyards during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
• In the years after Prohibition, which brought a stop to our good wine traditions, we drank largely red blends, and you could say that we had lost our way a little in the process.
• In the desert for eight years Orin Swift provided the image.
• According to him, the grape at the heart of that blend, which is widely regarded as the state’s most famous, has been a long-standing love affair for him for many years.
• “I’d venture to say that Zinfandel is the most difficult grape to master,” he says.
• The difficulties—combined with the fact that he sold The Prisoner brand along the road (invoking reported noncompete clauses)—led to Phinney taking an eight-year break from Zin.
• A total of eight years in the desert In the same vein as The Prisoner, 8 Years is a mix, consisting of 56% Zinfandel, 34% Petite Sirah, and 10% Syrah.
• Despite the fact that it is not light on alcohol, this is a wine for fans of juicy California fruit.
• 8 Years in the Desert, which is available to members in eight-bottle sets ($1,000) under the Orin Swiftbrand, is packed in a Phinney-style out-of-the-box design.
• The desert has really been emptied of its inhabitants.

Abstract

The label for Abstract was a labor of love that took three years to compile and three weeks to put together in the end. Abstract is made up of 230 photos that Phinney cut out of publications he purchased at airports while traveling across the world. Phinney was inspired by a collage that an Italian designer had hung up in his living room and believed that his own version would create an eye-catching wine label for the label. Phinney’s collection of portraits includes everyone from Elvis Presley and Earnest Hemingway to Paul Weller, Marilyn Monroe, and The Queen.

In case something went wrong, he snapped a snapshot of the collage as it was being created each night for reference.

A blend of Grenache, Petite Sirah, and Syrah, the wine inside the bottle is made up of 100 different components sourced from multiple vineyards in multiple appellations throughout California and narrowed down over the course of several months during multiple marathon tastings.

The collage was created using 100 different components sourced from multiple vineyards in multiple appellations throughout California.

Mannequin

Phinney is frequently questioned if the label or the wine came first: the label or the wine? For Mannequin, a Chardonnay blend composed from Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscat from Sonoma and Atlas Peak, the inspiration for the wine originated from a song. The song Roman’s Revenge by Nicki Minaj played on the air when Phinney was driving around with the radio blazing. Phinney was taken aback by the line: “You’re at a standstill, mannequin.” The incident made me think about mannequins and their function as stylized reproductions of the human body for the purpose of displaying clothing.

On shot 540, Gorman captured a moment that, as is frequently the case throughout the creative process, neither he nor Phinney were satisfied with.

Palermo

A chilling photo of a mummified priest wearing a red cape and a black hat known as a “biretta,” taken by National Geographic photographer Vincent J. Musi in a 16th century catacomb in Palermo, Sicily, serves as the label for Phinney’s Napa Valley red blend Palermo. The wine is named after the catacomb in which the photo was taken. The striking photograph is part of a series made by Musi for National Geographic, and it displays Phinney’s admiration for the grape variety Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a strong feeling of strength and dignity about it, which is exactly how we feel when we think of outstanding Cabernet.

“I believe it conveys a message about the wine,” says Phinney of the design.

With grapes from the same vineyards that produce Phinney’s top reds, Mercury Head and Papillon, Phinney characterizes it as “his most accessible Cabernet,” as well as “a real depiction of Napa Valley.”

Machete

Instead of just one label, there are a dozen separate labels for Machete – a red blend that is led by Petite Sirah from Northern California, with Syrah and Grenache filling out the supporting cast. Phinney came up with the concept for the label one day while travelling back to Los Angeles from San Francisco. After spotting what he assumed was a white police car ahead of him, he realized it was actually an old police vehicle that had been resold. Postman sitting behind the vehicle, his arm dangling out the window, smoking a cigarette was an unusual sight.

Despite his best efforts, his first concept of keying the word ‘Machete’ into the automobile and filming a machete-wielding model behind the wheel failed to materialize.

Taking place over the period of two days, it took more than 10,000 tries to acquire a dozen photos that Phinney was satisfied with. A model is always prominently shown at the top of every shot.” She’s in a position of authority all of the time. He explains, “That was really essential to me.”

Papillon

The Machete red blend is made up of Petite Sirah from Northern California as the star, with supporting parts from Syrah and Grenache. Rather than having one label, there are a dozen different labels for Machete. The inspiration for the label came to Phinney one day while travelling back to Los Angeles from San Francisco. Upon approaching what he believed was a white police car, he realized it was actually an old police car that had been resold, and he turned around. Postman sitting behind the wheel, his arm dangling out the window, smoking a cigarette was visible through the open window.

When Phinney was inspired, he organized a photoshoot including a police cruiser and the moon-like scenery of Calistoga as a background.

It took more than 10,000 attempts over the course of two days to produce a dozen photos that Phinney was satisfied with.

” She’s in a position of authority all the time.

China Doll

Instead of a single label, there are a dozen individual labels for Machete – a red blend that is led by Petite Sirah from Northern California, with Syrah and Grenache filling out the supporting cast. Phinney came up with the concept for the label one day while travelling back from San Francisco. As he approached what he initially believed was a white police car, he realized it was an old police vehicle that had been resold. A postman was sitting behind the wheel, his arm dangling out the window, smoking a cigarette.

Phinney was inspired and set up a picture session with the police cruiser, utilizing the moon-like environment of Calistoga as a background.

It took more than 10,000 attempts over the course of two days to produce a dozen photos that Phinney was pleased with.

She is constantly in a position of authority.

Eight Years in the Desert

Zinfandel isn’t the simplest grape to produce because of its inconsistent ripening, high alcohol content, and proclivity to rot. This did not deter long-time Zinphomaniac Phinney from producing his first ever wine from it in 1999, of which he only produced 99 cases and distributed to friends and family. After spraying sulphur late in the season, Phinney lost almost a third of his crop, and a heat spike burnt the morning side of the vines, making it difficult to harvest the fruit. The next year, Phinney produced his first vintage of The Prisoner, a Zinfandel, Cabernet, and Petite Syrah blend, which was followed by a second vintage the following year.

As part of the sale of the Prisoner brand in 2008, Phinney agreed with the buyer not to produce Zinfandel for the next eight years.

When Phinney couldn’t come up with anything creative to write, he composed a collection of short stories, the first of which was titled Eight Years in the Desert.

According to him, “it’s similar to riding a bike, but the bike has been transformed into a motorbike and the rider has a great deal more expertise.”

Blank Stare

Phinney considers wines to be either masculine or feminine in nature, and his labels frequently reflect this. Using old vine Semillon from Sonoma’s Monte Rosso vineyard to blend with his Blank Stare Sauvignon Blanc, which is crafted from grapes obtained from Sonoma’s Russian River Valley and a splash of old vine Semillon, he aims to convey the feminine nature of the wine inside the bottle. Following the collage method he used for Abstract, the layering effect created by the layering of a pair of gouged out eyeballs over a black-and-white shot of a female model has a nasty feel to it, which is precisely the impression Phinney was striving for.

“A lot of individuals have told me that it makes them feel uncomfortable,” adds Phinney.

Mercury Head

Mercury Head, Phinney’s most costly wine, is packaged in his most straightforward bottle design. The idea for the bottle came to Phinney after he came upon a Liberty dime in a bunch of loose coins while searching for change. “It brought back memories of how much I used to adore coin collecting when I was a youngster.” “My favorite coin has always been the Liberty dime, sometimes known as the ‘Mercury head,’” recalls Phinney of his childhood coin. Even though the coins haven’t been in circulation since 1945, that didn’t stop him from putting a Liberty dime on the front of every bottle of Mercury Head he could find in his travels.

The grapes used to make Mercury Head come from some of Phinney’s most prestigious vineyards in the Napa Valley.

Slander

Following more than a decade of struggle and trial and error, Phinney finally perfected his recipe in 2015 after learning the importance of picking the grape at the exact right moment of ripeness (in this case 25 brix) to avoid the wine tasting like strawberry jam.The label is one of the simplest in the Orin Swift range, and is meant to look like a piece of duct tape wrapped around the bottle in a nod to labeling barrel and tank samples when he was experimenting with different fermentation Pinot Noir from the Santa Rita Hills in Santa Barbara and the Sonoma Coast are among the varieties he works with.

My wife will only drink Slander, although she has a far finer palate than I do.

No Longer a Prisoner, Dave Phinney Goes for Something Harder

Phinney struggled and toiled for a decade to create a Pinot Noir that was worthy of bottling, but he finally cracked the code in 2015 after learning the importance of picking the grape at the exact right moment of ripeness (in this case 25 brix) to avoid it tasting like strawberry jam.The label is one of the simplest in the Orin Swift range, and is meant to look like a piece of duct tape wrapped around the bottle in a nod to labeling barrel and Pinot Noir from the Santa Rita Hills in Santa Barbara and the Sonoma Coast are among the varieties he uses in his production.

My wife will only drink Slander, although she has a far finer palate than I do. “Slander is the only wine I create that she will consume.”

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Orin Swift Cellars – The Napa Wine Project

Our featured Napa Valley winery, Migliavacca Wine CoOrin Swift Cellars, was founded by winemaker David Phinney and is located in the heart of the valley. The Napa Valley’s high-end vineyards, such as Robeth Mondavi Winery and Whitehall Lane, have benefited from David’s extensive experience in winemaking. With the name of this vineyard, he paid homage to his parents, whose middle names are Orin and Swift, and whose maiden names are Orin and Swift, respectively. When he was working for other vineyards, he decided to create his own winery.

When you combine good wines with innovative labeling, you are going to see rapid growth, and he has now made Orin Swift his full-time employer.

When The Prisoner label was sold again in April 2016, it was to Constellation Products, who had established a new specialized hospitality facility for The Prisoner wine and allied brands in November 2013, as well as an artisan community on site called The Makery, to serve the brand’s customers.

• The label is an etching of a prisoner produced by the legendary artist Goya.
• Orin Swift used to own this label and it was normally a five-varietal mix consisting of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Charbono, and Petite Syrah when he owned it.
• It is launched in May and sells out swiftly in wine shops, generally within a week of being available.
• One winemaker we spoke with told us that he had to wait more than four years simply to obtain a modest block of grapes from this vineyard.
• Once the wine has been stored for a period of time, the finest barrels are selected and used to make the final blend.
• For example, he used to collect coins as a boy, including the silver winged Mercury Head dimes — it takes a creative mind to come up with the idea of creating a wine bottle with a label made from a silver dime that is no longer in circulation.
• Orin Swift is always on the lookout for new sources of these dimes, whether they be from brokers, coin dealers, or recycled bottles.

The Mercury Head winery produces around 2000 cases of the Mercury Head wine each year at the time of this study.

Wines that have been carefully chosen Orin Swift Cellars’ 2013 vintage is available now.

On the tongue, it has flavors of ripe blackberry, cherry, and black currant that develop swiftly to become complex, exhibiting a “Napa boldness” that is commonly associated with this varietal produced in the region’s vineyards.

Papillion is one of their most sought-after wines, and its distinctive label ensures that it is easily recognizable as such.

In addition, they are farm hands – specifically, the hands of Vince Tofanelli, who is one of the loveliest old school vintners in the Napa Valley you will ever meet.

Papillon is usually a Bordeaux variety-based Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant blend with a strong Bordeaux influence.

The palate offers a wide range of appeal, with flavours of cherry and blackberry dominating the experience.

The grapes for their wines are sourced from more than 100 vineyards around California, although a portion of them are from Napa.

Eventually, he obtained 300 acres of vineyards, which were planted to Grenache (with vines that were up to 100 years old), Carignagne, and Sryah.

Department 66 is discussed in detail in our review of The Crane Assembly, which can be found here on our website.

It is a mix made primarily of Grenache grapes.

It’s a well-balanced wine that’s easy to sip and enjoy.

Using the proceeds from the manufacture of Veladora, a Sauvignon Blanc, Orin Swift pushes their charitable contributions even further.

The proceeds from the sale of this wine are donated to “Puertas Abiertas,” which translates as “Open Doors.” This is a charitable organization that offers agricultural laborers with dental treatment, counseling, and health tests.

Vandalism is Beautiful’ is written on the label of this wine, which features photos of individuals and the phrase “Vandalism is Beautiful.” The fragrance of the 2013 Orin Swift Cellars Abstract is dominated by the delicacy of the fruit and the impact of wood – with hints of baking spices.

— It is located upstairs in the famous Odd Fellows Lodge in downtown St.

They have a limited tasting area that is only open by appointment.

Orin Swift Cellars established a small tasting room in August of 2013 that was virtually just across the street from their previous office – and immediately next door to what was formerly known as the St.

Orin Swift purchased the facility that had been abandoned by the St.

The wine is the main attraction here, and there is little in the way of decoration or distraction.

Helena, winemaking facilities in several wineries in the southern part of the Napa Valley, and Dave’s property in France.

Even while the steel in the rear of the tasting room appears to be a cast for an enormous Mercury dime, it is actually only a coincidence that that specific piece of iron happened to be in that particular form at the time.

Choose between two tasting flights, one of which is appropriately titled ‘Heads’ and the other which is titled ‘Tails.’ Can’t make up your mind about which one you want to try?

A large number of people visit Orin Swift Winery every day.

By Napa standards, the wines are cheaply priced — and occasionally, a couple of the wines are exclusively available for sampling and purchase at this location (production is extremely small).

Dave is also a co-owner of the Napa-based Crane Assembly, which showcases one of the Napa Valley’s two oldest commercially producing vineyards (going back to the 1880s), the other being Canard Vineyard near Calistoga, which is also owned by his father.

For the aging of this spirit, Dave used used Mercury Head barrels from the Orin Swift program, as well as water from aquifers on his own property north west of the Napa Valley.

Sunshine Market is where you’ll find both of these products (just down the street from their tasting room).

Dave is also involved in the fashion industry, as he produces a limited number of Mercury Head denim jeans in addition to his beverage ventures.

We have little doubt that Dave will have no lack of projects; according to our most recent report, one of Dave’s brands, Locations, was bought by E.J.

There are wines from a variety of locations around the world, spanning four different continental regions, under this brand.

Visit www.orinswift.com for more information or to become a member of one of their wine clubs.

Gallo Winery acquired Orin Swift (including the brand, remaining inventory, and the tasting room in St.

As of our most recent update to this study, creator Dave Phinney is still working in the company in a consulting capacity.

Helena space was temporarily closed). St. Helena Tasting RoomIOOF Building, St. Helena Tasting Room Mare Island’s SavageCooke Distillery is located in France’s Department 66.

The Clock Strikes 8 For Dave Phinney: New Label Unleashed

Dave Phinney takes it quite personally, as you can imagine. His project, “8 Years in the Desert,” is “by far the most personal of any that I have worked on,” he explains. A non-compete agreement inked into eight years ago prevented wine pioneer Phinney from making any new wines using zinfandel; nonetheless, the clock has struck eight, and he is back in business. Despite the fact that Phinney was handsomely rewarded in a widely publicized wine label sale at the time, having his zinfandel-making hands bound must have seemed like a lifetime to someone with such an inquisitive and inventive mind.

1. It’s been matured for eight months in French Oak, with 30% of the wood being new.
2. There were perhaps 100 8-bottle first edition collector’s cases left out of the total of 3,500 that were created at the time we published this story.
3. Helena tasting room.
4. Following my learning about location, I applied my vineyard-first concept to my 8 Years in the Desert experience.
5. “I walked through every vineyard and called every pick,” she says.
6. “No expense has been spared in the production of this wine,” he claims.
7. I really don’t know.
8. “I would contend that Zinfandel is one of the most challenging varietals to work with.
9. The interview will provide an in-depth look at the book and the unusual inspirational narrative that inspired it.

Carl Kanowsky

Dave Phinney takes it quite personally, as you can see. His project, “8 Years in the Desert,” is “by far the most personal of any that I have worked on,” he claims. A non-compete agreement agreed into eight years ago prevented wine pioneer Phinney from inventing any new wines using zinfandel; nonetheless, the clock has struck eight, and he is back in the game of wine making. Despite the fact that Phinney was handsomely rewarded in a widely publicized wine label sale at the time, having his zinfandel-making hands bound must have seemed like a lifetime to someone with such an inquisitive and imaginative mind.

1. It has been matured in French Oak for eight months, with 30% of the wood being new.
2. Out of the 3,500 first edition collector’s cases produced, there were around 100 8-bottle cases left at the time we published this story.
3. Helena, they may be found at the Tasting Room.
4. Following my learning about location, I brought my vineyard-first mindset to 8 Years in the Desert.” It was important to me that every decision I made have a deeper meaning.

According to him, “no expense has been spared in the production of this wine.” Everything was left on the field, even the tank, which was completely depleted.” Blood, sweat, and tears have gone into this.” The 2017 vintage of 8 Years in the Desert is the culmination of Phinney’s “continued pursuit of mastery of Zinfandel,” according to the winemaker.

Honestly, I have no idea.

And he is, without a doubt, obsessive.

The interview will provide an in-depth look at the book and the unusual inspirational tale behind it.

What 8 Years in the Desert Really Represents – Bonfort’s

For the eight years following the sale of Prisoner Wine to Huneeus Vintners for $40 million in 2010, a non-compete provision prohibited the winemaker from working with that vine on any other brands. Huneeus continued to develop the Zinfandel-based red blend brand, eventually selling it to Constellation Brands for a whooping $285 million. Phinney didn’t waste any time throughout those eight years of clause-heavy negotiations. His conceptualLocations Winefor an undisclosed sum, as well as theOrin Swiftbrand–both of which were sold to Gallo–have been made and marketed after the sale of The Prisoner.

Additionally, Phinney founded the SavageCooke Distillery on Mare Island, off the coast of San Francisco, which produces tequila, bourbon, and American whiskey among other spirits.

In addition, Phinney released 8 Years in the Desertunder the Orin Swift label, eight multimedia labels including mixes of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Syrah as well as minor percentages of other red varietals, most recently in 2012.

We believe the name is a hint and a wink to the innovator’s Zin-drought, and although Phinney acknowledges that the sale of The Prisoner in 2010 was a good deal for him, he has missed the Zinfandel grape, and we believe the vine has missed him as well.

He said, “It was a good one, and I wear it with pride as a badge of honor,” he said.

He enjoys a good challenge.

For Phinn-o-philes, though, his return to Zinfandel with 8 Years in the Desert is a very thrilling development.

He began with a broad mainstream palette of his own, and as a result, his predilections were likely to be representative of a broad population at the time.

The return of Phinney to Zinfandel-making has been anticipated by fans for eight years, and now it has finally arrived.

It’s massive, yet it’s well-balanced.

Consider the flavors of black fig, raspberry, and forest floor.

8’s 2016 California Red Wine First Edition Limited Release has a dark hue and cherry tastes that are prominent at first, but gradually transition into dark coffee bean flavors.

This Zinfandel blend contains 56 percent Zinfandel, 34 percent Petite Sirah, and 10 percent Syrah.

It is matured for 10 months in French oak barrels and has a 15.7 percent alcohol level. If the purpose was to get Phinney closer to the mastery of Zinfandel, we can certify that he is securely on his way, or even that he has already reached his destination.