Two years ago, the principals of the Lodi winery Van Ruiten Family Vineyards reveled in the news that the Wall Street Journal wine club had chosen their 2007 Old Vine Zinfandel as the best interpretation of the varietal in the nation.

Seasoned wine writer Hugh Johnson led a panel through a blind tasting of scores of wines vying to be one of 12 selected for the club's "Annual Dozen" case.

That wine is sold out, not surprisingly, but it has a worthy successor in the Van Ruiten Family Vineyards 2008 Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel.

The wine is definitely a Lodi zinfandel, bullish with ripe berry flavors and packing substantial heat and oak.

But it's also something of an anomaly. Its garnet robe is bright and light. The smell is fresh. On the palate, it strokes more than its massages. It wasn't made in a nouveau style, but it qualifies as a summertime zinfandel in its freshness, balance and zest.

The man who made both the 2007 and the 2008, Ryan Keb Leeman, says the 2008 vintage was warmer than the 2007, and as a consequence the grapes were riper when they were harvested.

In the cellar, he worked to balance the added richness of the fruit by aging the wine in more new barrels of American oak. The result is a more complex and better-balanced wine, with the intensity of its fruit matched by the vanilla and spice from the wood.

To further build on the wine's complexity, Leeman added dashes of petite sirah, syrah, tannat and carignane.

As several other Lodi wineries, Van Ruiten Family Vineyards has been around for decades, but early on as a grape grower and only more recently as a winery. The founder, John Van Ruiten, arrived in the United States from his native Netherlands shortly after World War II.

In the early 1950s he bought the Happy Holmes Dairy and started to acquire and plant zinfandel vineyards. He sold their yields to wineries throughout the north state. The grapes that go into the old-vine zinfandels are from the Happy Holmes Vineyard, which Van Ruiten planted in 1952. He didn't get around to building the winery, however, until just before the 2000 harvest.

Today, three generations of the Van Ruiten family farm 800 acres of wine grapes.

Leeman, a 1995 graduate of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., joined the Van Ruitens in 2003 after a stint as winemaker with Paumanok Vineyards on Long Island.

At Van Ruiten, several of his wines, from cabernet sauvignon to carignane, have won several high honors in commercial wine competitions, but his zinfandels have brought in the most tributes.

Van Ruiten Family Vineyards 2008 Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel

By the numbers: 15.5 percent alcohol, 5,700 cases, $23

Context: While the huskiness of the 2008 Old Vine Zinfandel makes it a fitting companion at the table with grilled beef, especially fattier cuts, it's also lithe enough to accompany a moderately seasoned spaghetti, and even barbecued chicken.

Availability: In the Sacramento area, the wine is available at Costco, Nugget Markets, some Bel-Air/Raley's and SaveMarts, and Henry's Marketplace. It also can be ordered online through the winery's website, www.vrwinery.com.

Location and hours: The Van Ruiten tasting room, 340 W. Highway 12, Lodi, is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. daily.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Wine critic and competition judge Mike Dunne continues his relationship with The Bee as a contributing columnist to the Food & Wine section and www.sacwineregion.com. His wine selections are based solely on open and blind tastings, judging at competitions, and visits to wine regions. Check out his blog at www.ayearinwine.com, http://ayearinwine. blogspot.com and reach him at mikedunne@winegigs.com.

• Read more articles by Mike Dunne