As a bonus, at The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan, after the tasting of Paul Kornell Wines, Mike and Jenny Farmer were pouring their ZFG wine, and the only time that this wine will be offered in Michigan.   

As the Farmers explained, it was serendipity that they had been Paula Kornell’s first customers when she launched her inaugural vintage of her Napa Valley Blanc de Noir 2017.  They ended up bonding over their passion for wine, dogs and commitment to charitable work.  Paula Kornell was the president of the board of directors for Napa Valley Vintners and served on the boards of Napa Humane and Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa.  Mike Farmer was formerly president of commercial operation at Builders FirstSource and now serves on the board of directors for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  His wife Jenny, who as a labor and delivery nurse for twenty years, now serves on the board of Hope Scarves, which raises funds for metastatic breast cancer research and patient support.

The Farmers and Paula Kornell began a friendship immediately at Paula’s “Chateau Drool” which is fitting as she has three dogs, and the Farmers were perfect as they have bulldogs.  The Farmers are also originally Michiganders and wine was in their blood, as they were from the wine region near Traverse City.  They claim that they started off drinking the assorted cherry wines made in Michigan and part of the National Cherry Festival which attracts over 500,000 visitors each year    In fact, after leaving the tasting sessions they were meeting up with family for an outing that evening.  Wine people tend to be so festive.  I try to do some research, ahead of time for tastings, if possible and they were surprised that I knew that ZFG officially stands for “Zen From Grapes” as well as the more casual colorful “Zero ‘F’ Given.”

The last wine of the tasting was ZFG Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Reserve Production Napa Valley 2023.  This wine began for the Mike and Jenny Farmer, just for fun, but through their association with Paula Kornell Wines, this is now a labor of love and they are now producing one hundred cases of this wine, which they sell in allotments of six-packs or twelve-packs and the first time available in Michigan.  The fruit is harvested from the Oakville Benchlands and exemplifies the famed gravel and loamy soils of the Oakville AVA.  The deep garnet wine offered notes of black cherry, blackberry and cassis, followed by violets and lavender, along with cigar box and toasted vanilla.  On the palate the this full-bodied, well-balanced wine displayed tones of black and red fruits, mocha, leather and baking spices blending with silky tannins ending with a good medium-to-long count finish of fruit, crushed stones and graphite and the ethereal tones of Sous-bois blending with terroir.