Orin Swift Eight Years in the Desert Red Blend California Red Wine

The name lands it as a red blend from California, and the producer's technical sheet for the current 2024 release confirms the lead grape: Zinfandel, blended with Petite Sirah and Syrah.

The house behind it is Orin Swift, which says Dave Phinney founded the company in 1998, and the winery ties the wine's name directly to that grape: it says it was barred from making any Zinfandel for eight years in the early 2010s, and named this wine, released once that stretch ended, to pay homage to the grape that started the company.

Across the four stores we checked in September 2026, its price ranged from $51.99 to $78.99.

The 2024 release lists 15.4 percent alcohol and eight months in French oak, 32 percent of it new wood, slightly more new oak than the winery uses for its Abstract blend. In the winemaker's own words, the wine opens with black plum and boysenberry, with pepper and cedar in the background, finishing over soft tannins into dark chocolate and raspberry, the producer's tasting language, not ours.

Our call: this suits a shopper drawn to the story behind the name as much as the wine itself; Orin Swift ties the release directly to the eight years it says it spent barred from making Zinfandel, and its technical sheet backs that history with a Zinfandel-led blend and a specific oak regimen. Pass if you want a shopper rating or a tasting note from outside the winery; neither exists in our record yet, so the producer's own account is the whole case for the bottle.

The Grocery Store Wine Desk · written Sep 16, 2026 from our research file for this wine. Numbers reflect our latest checks.