Camp Zinfandel, Mendocino County '20

Ever wonder why you don’t find more wines from California on my $20 & Under Wine Club? It certainly isn’t for a lack of desire. We love to support the home team here at Perman Wine, but, sadly, so much in the $20 and under category from California is either bulk wine, or wine that is essentially manufactured to fit a certain profile. 

There is one producer in California that has been fighting the good fight since 2002. Kenny Likitprakong along with his wife, Lynn, founded Hobo Wine at the time, eventually setting up their winery in Santa Rosa in 2013. With labels such as Hobo, Folk Machine, Banyan, and today’s featured wine, Camp, he works with over 40 vineyards spread throughout Northern California.

The Camp label was founded in 2011, and specifically to address the need for “real wine” that can be poured by the glass in restaurants or drunk on an everyday basis at home. The most important thing about what Kenny and Lynn do is that they are working with vineyards they know, that are responsibly farmed, and produce high-quality fruit. Many wines from California that are sub $20 are filled with enzymes, tweaked, and manipulated to show a consistent flavor profile, probably developed by a focus group. That is not the case with Hobo Wine Company, nor any of their labels. 

You are going to love this Zinfandel from Camp! The 2020 Zinfandel is 83% Zinfandel, 10% Barbera, and 7% Carignane, all from the Maria Martinson Ranch. Each lot was fully destemmed, leaving whole berries in the stainless steel tanks to promote a more fruit-driven, less extracted wine. Aging was in a combination of 3-to-8-year-old French oak barrels. Ever bright and juicy, this Zin is fresh and satisfying without any of the heavy, jammy, overripe characteristics that so often drag Zinfandel down.

This is the perfect red to sip on its own, but it will also work well with almost anything grilled, especially hamburgers.