Winemaker Notes
Terra D'Oro Zinfandel Port Wine has rich flavors of cocoa, toffee, raisin, and coffee that follow through to a full-bodied, medium-sweet palate with a long finish. Terra d’Oro is one of Amador County’s elite producers known for critically acclaimed Zinfandels, refreshing whites and classic Italian varietals.
This port wine pairs well with fig walnut gorgonzola, brie cheese and apple or pumpkin pie.
This Zinfandel port wine is 19% alcohol by volume.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The first duty of a Port-style wine is to be dazzlingly rich and sweet, yet balanced in acidity, and this bottling is all that. Waves of blackberry jam, cassis, and dark chocolate are brightened with zesty acidity and the sweetness level is very high.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Is Port service the ending or just the beginning? Traditionally, Port is served at the end of the meal with blue veined cheeses and/or cigars. Guests often find this to be a fitting capper of a well-orchestrated evening. But for some, this is a time of discussion and reflection—perhaps the evening hasn't ended after all? The Terra d'Oro Zinfandel Port exhibits ripe berries and raisin notes. The wine's sweetness make a beautiful pairing with an aged double crème blue veined cheese. Drinks well now. (Tasted: July 19, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
Port is a sweet, fortified wine with numerous styles: Ruby, Tawny, Vintage, Late Bottled Vintage (LBV), White, Colheita, and a few unusual others. It is blended from from the most important red grapes of the Douro Valley, based primarily on Touriga Nacional with over 80 other varieties approved for use. Most Ports are best served slightly chilled at around 55-65°F. To learn more, see our full Port Wine Guide
As the lower part of the greater Sierra Foothills appellation, Amador is roughly a plateau whose vineyards grow at 1,200 to 2,000 feet in elevation. It is 100 miles east of both San Francisco and Napa Valley. Most of its wineries are in the oak-studded rolling hillsides of Shenandoah Valley or east in Fiddletown, where elevations are slightly higher.
The Sierra Foothills growing area was among the largest wine producers in the state during the gold rush of the late 1800s. The local wine industry enjoyed great success until just after the turn of the century when fortune-seekers moved elsewhere and its population diminished. With Prohibition, winemaking was totally abandoned, along with its vineyards. But some of these, especially Zinfandel, still remain and are the treasure chest of the Sierra Foothills as we know them.
Most Amador vines are planted in volcanic soils derived primarily from sandy clay loam and decomposed granite. Summer days are hot but nighttime temperatures typically drop 30 degrees and the humidity is low, making this an ideal environment for grape growing. Because there is adequate rain throughout the year and even snow in the winter, dry farming is possible.