Winemaker Notes:
“To the tooth,” Al Dente describes the ideal consistency of something when cooked. We believe Breaking Bread’s Al Dente is the perfect light and bright red wine to pair with the food being served in today’s best restaurants or by itself on a summer afternoon.  We made this wine differently than our other Breaking Bread reds. While we are no stranger to carbonic maceration, this is the first red wine that is fermented 100% whole cluster. Our other reds are primarily whole cluster but with some foot treading to help release more color and tannins into the juice, which combined with longer time in barrel, makes those wines more agreeable. With Al Dente, we were looking for a style that is delicate enough to pair with lighter cuisines – from seafood to vegetarian to the ever-popular farm to table – without overpowering the nuances those types of dishes offer. Coming in at 11.7% alcohol, this wine is
surprisingly complex. It sees three months in neutral French Oak barrels and goes through full malolactic fermentation.

Vineyard Description:

The Mourvèdre comes from two clones planted in a 4-acre block of our 16-acre estate Mizany Vineyard, which is situated in the famous Cortina Gravel of Dry Creek Valley and named after my father-in-law. It is farmed organically and is currently in year two of Organic Transition through CCOF. The Zinfandel is 100% dry farmed, old vine, head trained Zinfandel from Tollini Vineyard in Redwood Valley, Mendocino County.

Organic.

Harvest: September 2022
Fermentation: 100% barrel fermented in neutral
French Oak
Alcohol: 11.7%

Erik Miller's interest in natural wine came about as he noticed a shift in his industry toward lower alcohol, food friendly and low intervention wine. When he decided to start Breaking Bread, it was very important to him, artistically, to build something completely different than his first conception, Kokomo. He wanted to be challenged in his craft as a winemaker and he also wanted to understand fermentation from a different perspective that could possibly play a part in future Kokomo vintages.