2022 Saini Vineyards Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley Sonoma 750 ml

It’s law: When a group of old friends invites you to grill poolside at a luxe Healdsburg AirBnB, you say yes—and stop by Big John’s Market on the way. A legendary wine-country grocery, you walk into Big John’s parched and famished, you leave set to feast and libate like a king. 

We left with a rack of ribs the size of a skimboard, a bushel of broccolini to grill, and six bottles of Saini’s 2022 Dry Creek Zin. By the time the sun had set, the dinner was history, but we still had Saini’s Zin in our glasses—and on our mind. The next day, we were on the phone, locking down an allocation for Wine Access members. 

In 1917, when Michele Saini and his brother-in-law John Cuneo bought 80 acres there, Healdsburg felt two worlds away from San Francisco. Then as now, Healdsburg was an agricultural paradise, and the pair thrived, growing pears, prunes, apples, and wine grapes.

The partnership continued until the 1980s, when the Saini family bought out the Cuneos. Now they’re one of the most important growers in Sonoma County, working 320 acres in Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley, and selling nearly all of their Zinfandel from the iconic Seghesio and their old-vine program. 

But the Sainis maintain a TINY production of wines from their home blocks—on the site purchased by Michele back in 1917. And from plantings that go as far back as 1930, they made a mere 498 cases of the 2022 Saini VIneyards Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley.