Unturned Stone - 'Adel's Vineyard' - Rosé of Zinfandel - Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma, CA - 2025

Satellite's Hot Take

An unwaveringly delicious wine. From sip to finish it's so much more serious than one might expect from a white zin - bone dry and structured with a completeness about it that I love about a great zinfandel - it sits so far out of the pack of historic wines of this style it's in a field of its own. A serious, elegant, food-pairing-perfecto bottle that is on my permanent cellar list.

Notes from the Winery/Importer

We’ve farmed this little one-acre vineyard at the entrance to Dry Creek Valley since 2018 and have always dedicated its grapes to making our dry version of classic California White Zinfandel. Bright Barbie Doll pink in color with notes of strawberry and cinnamon in the nose and watermelon and berry on the palate. It finishes dry with pleasant acidity and a tangy freshness.
11.5% alcohol
Unfined and Unfiltered

Notes on the Producer

Unturned Stone was founded in 2010 by Erin Mitchell and Randy Czech, two industry veterans dedicated to traditional wine growing and winemaking in Northern California. We honor Mother Nature’s intentions and the work of our farmers by only sourcing organically grown grapes from Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. All our ferments occur naturally, and we rely on taste and experience rather than lab numbers to guide our winemaking. We do no additions or subtractions in the winery other than minimal sulfur as needed and are firm believers in low intervention winemaking. We believe good wine is grown rather than made and we see ourselves simply as custodians of the process.
Erin Mitchell has worn many hats since beginning her career in wine in Seattle in the early 1990’s. She got her start fresh out of college working as a sales associate in the gourmet foods department of Macy’s in 1993. She then went on to lead the team at McCarthy and Schiering Wine Merchants as their first female buyer and store manager. In 2000, she helped form Triage Wines, the first wholesale wine company in the Pacific Northwest committed to importing and distributing natural wine. In 2010, Erin moved to California, and began working as a sales representative for Farm Wine Imports in San Francisco. That same year, she and Randy started making wine together in a friend’s barn near the mouth of the Russian River. What started as a passion project soon evolved into Unturned Stone Productions. When not in the vineyard or winery, Erin still works for Farm Wine Imports sharing her passion for and knowledge of classic, artisan wine grown in both the old and new world.
Randy Czech came to wine production in 2002 after working as a professional brewer in his native Colorado. He spent four vintages learning lab and cellar work in Napa Valley and South Africa while studying viticulture at Napa Valley College. In 2005, he found a vineyard-focused job at Flowers Vineyard and Winery on the Sonoma Coast. Five vintages later (including one in New Zealand) Randy left Flowers, committed to practicing organic farming and determined to make classic, low-intervention wines without modern additives. He spent three years planting and training up a small vineyard near the town of Duncans Mills, and then went on to farming and harvest work at Failla Wines (2012-2015). In 2010, Randy and Erin started Unturned Stone after they were offered a ton of fruit from the beautiful Waterhorse Ridge in Fort Ross-Seaview. They released their first wines commercially in 2015 and have grown their production to include wines from both Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. Randy is also consulting viticulturist for Gary Farrell Winery, Pigasus Vineyard, and for several other vineyard owners in Sonoma County.

Grapes & Style

Zinfandel

Zinfandel is closely tied to California, even though its genetic roots connect it to Croatia and southern Italy’s Primitivo. It has become one of California’s signature grapes, especially in old-vine vineyards across places like Sonoma, Lodi, Contra Costa, Amador, and Paso Robles.

In the vineyard, Zinfandel ripens unevenly, often with raisins and underripe berries in the same cluster. It likes warmth and can build sugar quickly, so the best wines depend on thoughtful farming and picking before ripeness turns into heaviness. Old vines can be especially compelling, naturally limiting yields and adding concentration.

In the glass, Zinfandel tends toward brambly berry fruit, raspberry jam, black cherry, spice, pepper, and sometimes a wild herbal edge. It can be lush and high in alcohol, but the best versions keep freshness and a sense of snap. We like Zin most when it feels generous but not sweet or overbuilt.