By Bruce Neyers

Tuesday 21st April, 2026

2021 Zinfandel ‘Vista Notre’ – A wine that takes me back in time

Barbara and I arrived in San Francisco in May 1970, two years after what was then known as the summer of love. We were returning to the states from Korea, after I had spent 13 months as a guided missile officer assigned to a unit near the Demilitarized Zone. It was rugged, uncomfortable duty, and an assignment in San Francisco was like going to Xanadu. When I reported for duty, my new commanding officer apologized for having no military lodging available, but Barbara was thrilled that we got to live in The City. Despite my modest income, we found a spacious, one-bedroom apartment in the Marina District. It was one block from the stop for the 31-Stockton bus — which went downtown — two blocks from a branch of the library, 3 blocks from the start of the Marina shopping district on Chestnut street, and four blocks or so from the Marina Green. Barbara was soon hired as a school teacher, and while I still had eight months of military service ahead of me, we began our lives as Californians. My assignment was at Fort Baker, on the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and my hours were a surprisingly normal 8:00am to 5:00pm. Barbara’s school let out at 3:00, so she had time to wrap up her affairs, then get home for the TV broadcast of ‘The French Chef’, hosted by Julia Child. Barbara had always been a talented cook — probably because her mother was the oldest child in a farming family of 10 children. When we began dating, I always arranged to pick her up around dinner time, and became a regular at their table. In San Francisco, I’d arrive home from work at Fort Baker with Barbara often putting the finishing touches on our dinner. Most meals were based on Julia’s program that afternoon. I remember once learning that we’d be having boned chicken breasts with mushrooms in a cream sauce, and my thoughts quickly turned to wine with this exotic dish. We walked a few blocks to our favorite grocery store, and the owner’s daughter — after hearing our dinner plans — suggested a Zinfandel. Almost all of her wine suggestions were Zinfandel, and it became an important part of our meals. That love affair ended in a few years, though, when most of the Zinfandel I tried had an alcohol level so high I could no longer enjoy it. Most table wines – red or white – have an alcohol content of about 12-14%. The finished alcohol level is directly related to the sugar content of the grapes when harvested, as about 55% of the sugar in the grape is converted to Ethanol. The clusters of many Zinfandel grapes are about the size of a football, and are harvested with almost 30% sugar. As a result, the alcohol level was often high — 17% or more. I didn’t really enjoy it. Our winemaker Tadeo Borchardt joined us in 2004, and while tasting through our inventory, I explained my problem with high alcohol Zinfandel. Tadeo proposed that we use Zinfandel grapes from the areas of Clement Hills and Borden Ranch, two AVAs in the Sierra foothills east of Lodi. Because they are relatively new plantings, the clusters are small – about the size of a softball — and ripen evenly. The grapes are harvested at 23-24% sugar, which keeps the alcohol at 13-14%. Tadeo had connections with several growers in the area, and we were soon making wines with alcohol levels ranging from 13.5% to 14%. At that level, the wines go better with Barbara’s food, I thought. Our 2021 Zinfandel ‘Vista Notre’ is an ideal example. The wine is dark and aromatic, and I adore that aroma of ripe plum and fresh blackberry. It’s soft and agreeable, with a finish you might call delicate. The alcohol level is 14.1%, and a bottle is perfect for two people. Barbara recently made Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms in a Cream Sauce — she’s modified the recipe several times over the years — and we enjoyed it with a bottle of slightly chilled Zinfandel ‘Vista Notre’ on Valentine’s Day.

Chicken with Mushrooms

Ingredients

• ¼- pound fresh mushrooms sliced 1/8 to ¼-inch thick
• 4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, trim any jagged edges and flatten
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon minced shallots
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup whipping cream
• lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Rub the chicken breast with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
2. Coat each chicken breast with flour. Be sure to shake off excess flour.
3. In a cast iron pan, heat two tablespoons of olive oil and cook the chicken breasts until cooked through. Set the chicken aside.
4. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and butter in the pan. Once the butter melts, add the shallot and sliced mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are cooked through and the shallot is clear in color. If pan becomes too dry, add more olive oil or butter.
5. Add chicken stock and continue cooking until the chicken stock reduces by half and the liquid is syrupy.
6. Add the cream and cook until cream has slightly thickened.
7. While the cream is thickening, return the chicken breasts to the mixture and cook until they are heated through.
8. Sprinkle with minced parsley and serve.