BACA Wines is the modern, Zinfandel‑focused branch of the HALL/WALT family, created to explore California’s heritage vineyards through a fresh, adventurous lens. The brand launched in 2016 under the HALL umbrella and was built by Jennifer Brown, daughter of vintner Kathryn Walt Hall, who grew up among her family’s Zinfandel vines and later returned to wine after careers in tech and social entrepreneurship. Baca means “berry” in Latin, a nod to the grape at the heart of the project.
This wine from the Rockpile AVA features aromas of ripe berries, meadow flowers, and star anise. The generous palate carries elegant weight and a sweet/savory note of salted dark chocolate, leading to a deliciously supple finish.
Blend: 98% Zinfandel, 2% Petite Sirah
94 Wine Spectator Polished and richly structured, with jammy raspberry flavors accented by notes of baking spices and licorice as this strides toward fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2032.
92 Wine Enthusiast This is summertime sunshine Zinfandel. Raspberry jam and soft floral aromas dominate the nose, swirling into crème de cassis, cocoa and licorice on the palate. There's enough tannin here for aging, but it's pretty charming stuff in the here and now.
