Fred and Alberta Zmarzly own a 418 acre ranch on the side of a mountain, west of Hopland, CA. The 17 acre vineyard on the ranch is planted mostly with Cabernet Sauvignon vines; the balance of the vines are Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot. Fred operates the vineyard, performing such tasks as driving the tractor, mowing, weeding, fertilizing and maintaining the irrigation system and equipment on the ranch. Alberta has planted rose bushes at the ends of many of the vine rows, pruning them so that they show flowers most of the year. She also maintains a vegetable and herb garden within the vineyard.

The name of the winery was chosen by the name Alberta's father, of Italian descent, used to call her as a little girl: Albertina

Albertina Wine Cellars is a boutique winery specializing in ultra-premium Cabernet Sauvignon wines made from mountain grapes. The current production is less than 500 cases per year with plans to increase production ultimately to 3000 cases per year. Since the Zmarzly Family Vineyard is only in its third growing season, purchased grapes from a nearby mountain vineyard have been used to make the first vintage 2002.

The vineyard is on the north side of the mountain slope, offering a unique terroir and microclimate with warm days and cool nights. Afternoon summer breezes cool the vineyard; the peak afternoon temperatures are 3 to 5 degrees cooler than the valley floor. The degree-days of the vineyard is 3200, in Region 3 of the grape-growing classified areas in California, ideal for growing Cabernet Sauvignon. The soil in the vineyard is red loam, about 2' to 6' deep, over fractured sandstone. It is well drained, with low to moderate fertility. Soil tests performed have shown good humus levels and sufficient levels of natural nitrogen and potassium. The phosphorus levels are a little low but are supplemented with rock phosphorus and wood ashes.

A total of about 17,000 vines have been planted for a vine density of 1000 vines per acre. Most rows in the vineyard are 8 feet wide while the vines are planted 5 feet apart. The latest trellis technology has been employed to grow grapes of terrific quality. A Vertical Shoot Position (VSP) trellis system, with its movable wires, gently guide the growing shoots vertically in order to expose the leaves and berry clusters to the sun. Shading of the clusters by the leaves is thus avoided. It has been demonstrated that berry clusters that are exposed to the sun produce more phenols and colors, resulting in superior tasting wines.

The vines are irrigated with a drip system that is supplied by an entirely gravity-fed irrigation system. A 30 acre-foot pond high above the vineyard supplies water to the vines. No electricity is used to pump the water; the water just flows down-hill through pipes to the vineyard.

Albertina Wine Cellars specializes in ultra-premium limited-production Cabernet Sauvignon wines made from mountain grapes. Since mountain grapes produce softer tannins and smaller berries in the cluster, the flavors and colors are more intense.

Vintages 2002 and 2003 were made from a vineyard-designated harvest. Both vintages are 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Waddington Ranch Vineyards, in the hills east of Hopland, produces very good fruit. The fruit is picked from the same rows and vines each year so that one can experience the terrior of the vineyard year after year. The fruit is picked at the peak of ripeness, and extended maceration is used to ferment the wine completely to dryness before pressing. This keeps the pulp and the skins in contact with the juice for about 3 weeks, allowing complete extraction of the colors and flavors. The wine is aged in French, American and Hungarian oak barrels for 20 months. After aging in barrels, the wine is bottle-aged before releasing.

The wine is fruit-forward in taste with berry flavors, not over-oaked and very drinkable. Having been bottle-aged before release, it is not necessary for the consumer to bottle-age the wine before enjoying it; the wine will, however, continue to improve in the bottle for many years.

Only 478 cases of Vintage 2002 were made. Vintages 2002, 2003 and 2004 are 100% Cabernet Sauvignon; future plans include producing blends of Cabernet Sauvignon in the Bordeaux style.

Our Philosophy

The most important asset in the vineyard is the soil itself. The red loam soil and microclimate of the mountain ranch conspire to produce fruit of the highest quality, unique for the terrior. Sustainable and non-certified organic viticulture practices are used to allow the vines to express themselves and grow in a balanced manner. In addition, re-cycling is done as much as possible in the vineyard, the winery and in the Zmarzly household. Albertina Wine Cellars ships the wine in recyclable molded pulp packaging.

Our Mountain Vineyard

Tannins formed in mountain grapes are softer, producing more drinkable wines. Vines grown in thin (2 to 6 feet depth) mountain soils produce soft tannins and small berries for more intense flavors and color. The goal is to produce balanced vines which grow sufficient leaves and canes to support an adequate crop load. The target crop load is 3 tons per acre which can be attained through proper pruning, cluster thinning, trellising and soil nutrition techniques.

The high elevations of mountain vineyards lower both the daytime peak temperatures and also the night-time temperatures; the acid and sugar levels in the grapes is kept to an ideal level.

The Cabernet Sauvignon vines are planted in 8 foot wide rows running up and down the hillside. The vines are 5 feet apart. The Merlot vines are planted on terraces that are 10 feet wide. Those vines are planted 4 feet apart, as the soil has lower fertility. The Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc are also planted on terraces but are 5 feet apart. The rootstock on most of the vines is 110R but 101-14 is used in some of the more moderate fertility blocks. The Cabernet Sauvignon clones are 191 and 337.

Viticulture Practices

Sustainable and organic (non-certified) viticulture practices are used to nourish the soil and produce balanced vines. Before the vineyard was planted, extensive soil tests were conducted to examine the nature of the soil. Test pits showed soil depths of 2 to 6 feet, over fractured sandstone so the drainage is good, with low to moderate fertility red loam soil. It was found that sufficient levels of naturally occurring nitrogen and potassium exist in the soil, but levels of phosphorus are low. Small amounts of rock phosphorus and wood ashes are applied to each vine by hand. The rock phosphorus and ashes slowly dissolve with the winter rains providing a slow but steady source of phosphorus to the vines.

Compost is added by hand to the soil to provide additional minerals, organic material and beneficial bacteria. The bacteria and other microorganisms break down the naturally occurring minerals in the soil and make them available to the vines. Green manure in the form of clover is grown in the rows. In the spring, the clover is mowed and as the cut clover decays, it slowly provides nitrogen to the vines.

Regarding pest control, there has been no spraying for insects at all since the vineyard was planted 3 years ago. The beneficial insects, such as spiders and lady bugs, do a terrific job at keeping the non-beneficial insects, such as leafhoppers and aphids, at bay. In addition, Western Bluebirds and other song birds that visit the vineyard help to keep the insect population down.

With no-till viticulture practices, cover crops are grown in the rows between the vines to hold the soil in place on the slopes. Annuals such as barley, annual ryegrass, mustard and clovers have been planted. Over the years, the cover crops will be rotated to oats, triticale, cereal rye, bell beans and blando brome grasses to promote biodiversity. As the vines mature, discing in the Spring every other row to provide green manure will be employed. The disced clover will release substantial amounts of nitrogen to the soil providing nutrition to the vines and biomass to the soil.