2025 vintage Fortified Zinfandel

Mohr-Fry · Lodi

Mohr-Fry Fortification Lot

Fortified Zinfandel

In cellar · fortification lot Last updated July 2026

The third recorded wine of 2025 is a Mohr-Fry Lodi Zinfandel being developed in a port-style direction. The lot combines ripe fruit, three yeast paths, separate cellar tracking, and a deliberate fortification window rather than treating spirit addition as a single fixed recipe.

Fortification and élevage 82% complete
Vintage2025
FruitFortified Zinfandel
SourceMohr-Fry · Lodi
VesselBDX · D254 · BM4X4 lots
Scale0.35 ton · projected 50 gallons

Wine highlights

Mohr-Fry Lodi fruit source
0.35 ton Recorded fruit weight
3 lots BDX · D254 · BM4X4
In progress Fortification program

01 / Progress

The wine,
step by step.

  1. Harvest

    Mohr-Fry Zinfandel enters the cellar

    The lot began with approximately 700 pounds of Lodi Zinfandel and a projected cellar volume near 50 gallons.

    0.35 ton
  2. Fermentation

    Three yeast paths remain available

    BDX, D254, and BM4X4 were tracked separately to preserve options before the fortified style was finalized.

    Three lots
  3. Press

    Press, first racking, and barrel transition

    The working record places pressing and the first cellar transfers at the end of September.

    Cellar move
  4. Élevage

    The base wine stays under observation

    The lot continued through winter checks before the final fortification and blending decisions.

    Ongoing
  5. Fortification

    Sweetness and spirit are treated together

    The cellar model links the fortification point to the wine’s remaining sweetness and the strength of the available spirit.

    Bench-led

02 / Tasting record · Current cellar direction

“Fortification is a timing decision, not merely an addition.”

The working method is to follow the base wine, choose the desired sweetness, and calculate the spirit addition around that sensory target. The final blend and bottle specification are still open.

Wine profile

Style
Port-inspired fortified red
Method
Sweetness-led timing
Status
Still developing
Next in the cellar

Confirm the final spirit, blend, alcohol, residual sweetness, vessel plan, and bottling date before marking the wine complete.

03 / Notes

What stays
in the record.

The developing method

This lot extends the earlier fortified-wine program with a more explicit sequence:

  1. build a sound Zinfandel base wine in separate yeast lots;
  2. press and rack without losing lot identity;
  3. taste through the sweetness window;
  4. calculate fortification from the chosen sensory point and spirit strength;
  5. keep the finished blend and bottle specification open until the wine settles.

Why it is public now

The source workbook clearly identifies a distinct 2025 GAEA Zinfandel lot. The page is intentionally marked in progress: it records the wine without presenting unfinished cellar calculations as final facts.