I discovered Wood Road at the end of this summer, when I belatedly began plotting a route to bike to work. It’s a potholed little country connector lane that takes me off the main roads for a while, past ranchettes and a few old vineyards; no shoulder, but the occasional motorists thoughtfully share the road with me. On one side, gnarled old bush vines cling to the ground; on the other, Robert Rue has lifted his Zinfandel up on a trellis to reinvigorate the old vines, where they spill, but sparingly, over the wires. Little enclaves like this are the remainder of a much-forgotten wine boom—only recently have Sonoma County’s vineyards surpassed the acreage they claimed before Prohibition.
A deep, opaque ruby, the 2006 Wood Road Reserve Zinfandel ($32) has just about everything I like about Zins from this part of the Russian River Valley (don’t be alarmed by the Carol Shelton cork—she was their winemaker in 2006). The nose finds crushed blackberry, charcoal, a darker shade of strawberry, lavender and smoke. Rich, jammy flavors knit together with savory beef jerky; stony tannin makes a firm, dry finish. The 14.9 percent alcohol—not too high these days—is obscured in this big, but well-integrated Zin. Flavorful enough to be enjoyed now, it would be none the worse some years in the cellar.
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Kathy’s Super Pumpkin Soup 
From Kathy Bradley, Robert Rue Vineyards chef
1 15 oz. can organic pumpkin
2 1/2 c. chicken or vegetable broth
1 c. half & half
3 t. pumpkin pie spice
Salt & pepper to taste
Whisk together pumpkin, broth and pumpkin pie spice. Add the half and half and warm thoroughly, do not allow soup to go above a simmer or it would curdle.
Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche, sour cream or Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter and a candied pecan or walnut.
Variation: add 1/4 cup Pumpkin Butter for a slightly sweeter soup.
