When Tully's was brand new back in 1997 a solid rule to follow when it came to Red Zinfandel was:  If the winery name began with "R" it was a good wine.  Hence, Ridge, Ravenswood, Rosenblum, and Rabbit Ridge were all safe bets.  Which is still true for the most part, however......

Shortly thereafter I met Dana Tietje, sister of Christian Tietje, owner/winemaker of Four Vines at one of the first wine shows I had ever attended.  She was excited to meet someone from Wells that had opened a wine shop and I was more excited to get a wine produced by one of the "Lost Boys" of Ogunquit.  In a very short timeframe Four Vines became the best selling wine in my store.  Strangely, the only white produced by the winery is an unoaked Chardonnay which was the #1 selling wine in my store for 8 years in a row from 1998 to 2006.  For most of those years, the Old Vine Cuvee Zinfandel was hovering around #4 or #5, and the "Biker" Zinfandel from Paso Robles around #9 or #10.  Remarkable given how small this wine company was.

During the last 4 years Four Vines has achieved nothing short of stardom on the East Coast and my sales have dissipated because the wines are available everywhere in Southern Maine.  Do yourself a favor and pick up a bottle anywhere you find it, you'll never be dissapointed.

Four Vines