One of California's oldest family estates, ZD was founded in 1969 by aerospace engineers Gino Zepponi and Norman de Leuze. Their founding concept was to produce world class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reminiscent of France's renowned Burgundy wines by sourcing from the cool Carneros regions of Napa and Sonoma.

The ZD Wines brand highlights the initials of the founding partners' last names, but it also symbolizes the term Zero Defects, an acronym for the quality control program Norman and Gino worked under while designing rockets.

A small, cool portion of ZD's organically–certified Carneros vineyard is devoted to Pinot Noir. ZD Pinot Noir reflects the potential richness of Pinot Noir in a more reserved California style. A beautiful dark ruby colored wine with aromas of briary raspberry, rhubarb, and black cherry. The palate is bright and supple with a ripe core of red fruit, balanced by subtle hints of cedar, vanilla, and spice that linger on the finish. This wine is drinking great right now, but should develop additional complexity with proper cellaring. An excellent example of what Carneros Pinot Noir can deliver. (from the vintner)