We strolled through several vineyards in western and northern Sonoma County. Our guides were Mike Officer and David Gates Jr., principals of the Historic Vineyard Society, a nonprofit organization they helped form a year ago to enhance the stature and appreciation of old vineyards.

"This is our viticultural heritage," Officer said at one point. "More should be done to preserve old vineyards. We want to raise public awareness of how special these vineyards are so they can be kept in the ground."

The Historic Vineyard Society is a start. Over the past year, it's assembled an online registry of more than 200 vineyards that qualify as potentially historic according to the group's standards. That is, they were planted no later than 1960. They still produce grapes. At least one-third of the existing vines date to the original planting.

Any grower with a vineyard he or she feels qualifies for the registry can add its name to the list. The society's officials then begin to verify its age. Their first step is a casual stroll through a vineyard to see if it at least looks old.

"How can you tell if a (zinfandel) vine is more than 50 years old?" Gates asks, while pausing in an Alexander Valley vineyard believed to have been planted in 1882.

Then he answers his own question: "You can see through the base of it."

Gates' Ridge Vineyards of Cupertino uses grapes from the surrounding vines for its celebrated "Geyserville" proprietary wine, largely zinfandel but also including petite sirah, carignane, alicante bouschet and mataró.

Sure enough, several of the thick and scaly trunks of zinfandel have a gap near the base big enough to drive a croquet ball through. Beyond that, they simply look ancient. They're short and stooped. Their limbs are stiff and gnarled. Several have to be propped up to keep from toppling over.

If officials of the Historic Vineyard Society aren't satisfied that their visit confirms a vineyard's age, they can consult agricultural commission documentation, tax assessment records and the like. So far, the registry includes such fabled California vineyards as Benito Dusi, Lytton Estate, Monte Bello, Monte Rosso, Pagani Ranch and Whitton Ranch. Those under review include such high-profile producers as Carla's, Catfish, Deaver, DuPratt, Grandpere, Limerick Lane and Lubenko.

Older vineyards are at risk not only from encroaching urbanization in several agricultural districts but also from their customarily light yield, which often prompts growers to tear them out in favor of more productive vines, Officer explained.

Older vineyards aren't like older buildings in providing a continuing link to the country's history, he believes. He appreciates that people who own landmark buildings often enjoy tax breaks for their continued preservation.

"Why not do the same thing for historic vineyards?" he muses.

With that, we adjourned for dinner, during which, appropriately, several wines from older vineyards were poured. Many of them were superb zinfandels in the portfolio of Ridge Vineyards, but for me the biggest departure and the biggest surprise was the Turley Wine Cellars 2010 Lodi "El Porrón" Cinsault.

Turley is a brand virtually synonymous with dense and powerful zinfandels. Almost without exception, they're dark, warm, complex and rigid. This Turley, on the other hand, is so stylistically removed from the weight and concentration that the brand has come to represent that its parentage would be suspect at a family reunion.

That's largely because cinsault, sometimes spelled cinsaut, is no zinfandel. Cinsault – pronounced san-SO – is a black grape, and while it is capable of yielding red wines deep in color, big in body and rich in flavor, it's often used for lighter-style wines, including rosés, especially in southern France and northern Africa.

Turley's approach to cinsault isn't to use it for a rosé, but for a light-colored red remarkable for its fresh and fruity smell, its vivacious spiciness and its tangy finish. This is one bright, perfumey and refreshing wine, youthful in spirit while mature in its well- developed flavors. While many of the wines at the Historic Vineyard Society dinner were noble, this one generated buzz for its unassuming charm.

The wine's easygoing accessibility accounts for the designation "El Porrón" in its name, as well as the sketch on the label. That's a "porrón," a kind of upscale bota bag, made of glass rather than animal skin. Porróns are popular in Catalonian cafés, where they are passed around at parties. Guests share the wine by pouring it directly into their mouths without touching the vessel's narrow pointed spout with their lips.

"When we were talking about what to call the wine, we joked that you could drink it out of the bottle, and that led to the drawing of a porrón on the label," said longtime Turley winemaker Ehren Jordan.

Though cinsault is relatively rare as a varietal in California, the Turley qualified for the dinner because its grapes are from the Bechtold Vineyard in Lodi, which is believed to date from 1884.

"We like esoteric wines," said Jordan. "And we''re big fans of Lodi. We love the diversity there." (Turley has two wineries, one at St. Helena in Napa Valley, the other at Templeton just south of Paso Robles.)

The cinsault is such a stylistic departure from Turley's usual approach because the grape, unlike zinfandel, ripens at comparatively low sugar levels, packing the resulting wine with plenty of fresh fruit flavor but not as much alcohol as is generally found in the winery's zinfandels.

"Our goal with cinsault is to capture the freshness of the grape," Jordan said. "We let the vineyard tell you how to make the wine."

Turley's cinsault won't be found other than in restaurants. That's where the winery's principals believe it would be best received, given its versatility at the table, where it provides both fresh fruit and refreshing acidity, set off against a firm spine.

Michael and David Phillips of the Lodi winery Michael David manage the Bechtold Vineyard and use the cinsault both for blends and for release as a varietal. Production of the varietal cinsault now is so small, however, that it is sold only at the winery's tasting room.

Turley Wine Cellars

2010 Lodi "El Porrón" Cinsault

By the numbers: 13.5 percent alcohol, 800 cases, $36 and $40

Context: Jordan likes the cinsault for its adaptability. Like pinot noir, it is light enough but spirited enough to pair with grilled salmon. Unlike pinot noir, however, it has solid enough bones to stand up to lamb.

Availability: In the Sacramento area, Turley's cinsault is carried by the restaurants Matteo's, Grange and Ella. The 2010 vintage is just now enterting the distribution pipeline, so the stylistically similar 2009 still may be on the wine lists. At Ella's, the wine sells for $40 a bottle; at Matteo's, $36; and at Grange; $12 a glass.

Information: The only Turley winery with a tasting room is at 2900 Vineyard Drive, Templeton. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

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

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