Everything was singing

Amapola Creek Vineyards & Winery debuted when veteran winemaker Richard Arrowood and his wife Alis released a 2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2005 Monte Rosso Vineyard Zinfandel. The Cab, per pro tasting notes, was “made in the modern, cult style” with “lush, almost decadent flavors.” The Zin, which I enjoyed recently, was fresh and fruit forward. No heavy jam here, just ripe red fruit, acidity both sharp and alive, smooth tannins, and a 16% sprint across the palate and through the finish. My approach on the Zinfandel was to take it easy over a long day of nonstop snowfall and a couple of bowls of homemade borscht, a perfect pairing.

Staring at the wine label, thinking and drinking, it featured a stately capital A in front of vine leaves and poppy flowers with a cluster of grapes dropping from the letter’s horizontal bar, all monochrome, presumably illustrated with graphite. A handful of shoots wrap around and in front of the A, nestling the letter comfortably into the vine. 

Elegant yet earthy, the A reps the Arrowoods and the namesake amapola/poppy flower growing on the estate. The other instance of amapola, the Spanish word for poppy, that I’ve come across and enjoyed is a song called “Amapola” written by Spanish musician and composer José Lacalle just over a hundred years ago, with about as many renditions by others since.

There’s a classic and sugary version in English that dates back to the big band era. Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra had a hit with it in 1941, swinging and trotting to the tale of the pretty little foreign flower that represents exotic love, with its allure and wonder. It’s as lush and indulgent as a 2005 Amapola Creek Cabernet Sauvignon.

Another “Amapola” is this slow, pretty, and romantic version in Spanish from 2008 by Guatemalan musician Gaby Moreno. Fresh, unfiltered, and hot like the 2005 Amapola Creek Monte Rosso Zinfandel.

Yet another version is by British singer Davy Jones (not the Monkee) from 1960, with it’s raunchy soul delivery and bop bounce. 

Jones’s brush with soon-to-be greatness happened when he performed his hit song “Amapola” with The Beatles at the Cavern Club in 1961 during an afternoon session. This recording is not from that session, but it’s still a mover.

The last rendition of “Amapola” I’ll share is an surf rock instrumental of the tune from 1963 by The Spotnicks, a Swedish band that dressed in space suits and had a long rockin’ career way under the radar. This is my favorite version.

The song “Amapola” calls for fantastic and colorful takes, just like worthy wine does. The fantastic fruit for this worthy Amapola Creek Zinfandel came from the winery’s next-door neighbor in Sonoma, the legendary Monte Rosso Vineyard.

I dig deep diving about vineyards, the lore of the land, the rocks and dirt the gnarly vines are planted in, what’s in the ground going into the fruit and, eventually, the wine. There’s good history and dirt at Monte Rosso. The blocks were first planted in 1886 with Zinfandel and Semillon (some of those vines are still producing fruit today), the property sold to Louis M. Martini in 1938 (they added a significant planting of Cabernet Sauvignon), then Gallo took over in 2002. 

Named after its iron-rich, volcanic, Red Hill Loam soil, Monte Rosso is way up there, peaking at about 1,200-1,300 feet in Sonoma County’s Moon Mountain AVA. The site is known for producing wines with high acidity across varieties and producers, which is a reason the 2005 Amapola Creek Zinfandel is so stellar in 2026. Another was Richard Arrowood’s measured hand as a winemaker, balancing oak, unfining, and unfiltering with the superb vineyard fruit.

The Amapola Creek Zinfandel was ready after about thirty minutes of air, no decant, the initial mustiness of twenty years in bottle gone. It’s can be a risk opening an old bottle of aged Zinfandel, handed down with unknown provenance. Fortunately, this one seemed like it was taken care of, and coupled with a stellar vineyard with “viñas antiguas,” a winemaker with an easy touch, and a batch of songs in its honor, it turned out to be a delicious pop and pour.