J Dusi Wines – corkscrewmarket (2024)

This Winery Ships To:

AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI, WV, WY

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  Janell Dusi, Proprietor & Winemaker

  Janell Dusi is digging up her heritage and the roots of her family’s 95 year old Zinfandel vineyard in Paso Robles, California. Janell has been making wine for friends and family to enjoy from 1996 and launched her wine label J Dusi Wines with a 2006 vintage. She began making wine with her grandfather, Dante Dusi, teaching her the basic Italian style in his basem*nt. One unique character that comes through in Janell’s winemaking is that she personally hand picks during harvest, drives the tractors, crushes the fruit and covers every step of the process with a smile. Good work ethic was instilled in Janell at a young age. Today, the winery and vineyard operations are still a family affair.

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  Paper Street Vineyard

  After years of searching, in 2013 Mike Dusi found a 360-acre parcel of land in the Willow Creek AVA. It was hilly, rocky, covered in dead trees, and had been ignored for many years. It was a brutal piece of land – and in his eyes, perfect. The family thought he had gone a little crazy, but that was just the beginning.

  A paper street is a road or street that appears on maps but does not exist in reality. The piece of land off Kiler Canyon was quite literally on one of these. Mike Dusi saw something special, and the Paper Street Vineyard was born. Continuing and expanding on the legacy of generational farming, for 3 years he worked with sons Matt and Michael to clear the land and plant the vineyard. They pulled the dead trees out with chains and bulldozers. At one point they lost a bulldozer off the steepest terrain, and someone lost part of a finger along the way. They cleared the soil – by hand. The entire family, 3 generations’ worth, worked up at almost 2200 feet, walking the dirt to pick up sticks and stones.

  The elevation, steep hillsides, and white calcareous terrior create excellent growing conditions for making bold, balanced and complex wines. As with most Dusi endeavors, it was a true family undertaking. Of the 360 acres, 110 was cultivatable. Those 110 acres are steep, rocky, and full of limestone. They include varieties such as (of course) Zinfandel, Mourvedre, Grenache, Syrah, Clairette Blanche, Tempranillo, Carignane, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petite Sirah. Our first official vintage was 2016.

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  Dusi Vineyard

  The story of the historic Dusi Vineyard began in the early 1920s, when Sylvester and Caterina Dusi emigrated from Northern Italy and settled in Paso Robles. The Dusi Vineyard introduced some of the first Zinfandels to California’s Central Coast; vineyards were rare in Old California in the early 1900’s. Sylvester and Caterina were highly enterprising, and working together with their three sons – Guido, Dante and Benito, eventually bought an additional property on the west side of Highway 101 in 1945 and planted Zinfandel. Zinfandel was the Italian varietal of choice at the time, and remains the vineyard’s mainstay varietal today.

  The intense flavor profiles of the “Dusi Fruit” are characteristic of the land’s unique micro climate and the family’s old-world, handcrafted grape growing techniques, which promotes sustainable vineyards, through use of techniques like cover crop and dry farming. This 100-acre estate is located just south of Paso Robles in the Templeton Gap. A region that features the greatest day-to-night temperature variation of any appellation in California, providing ideal conditions for vibrantly flavored yet exceptionally balanced wines. The vineyard has been sought after by many fine wineries, for the production of old vine zinfandel such as: Turley, McPrice Myers, Ridge, Tobin James, and Grey Wolf. These local wineries have been purchasing the fruit for many years, creating their own versions of Dante Dusi Vineyard designated Zinfandels.

  Three generations after Janell Dusi’s great-grandparents first planted Zinfandel she is continuing the legacy of one of the area’s most well loved vineyards. Expanding on the family owned business and taking 20 percent of the production off the Family Vineyards to create J Dusi Wines.

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  Tasting Room

  Taste wines from J Dusi and Paper Street, exclusively poured here at the winery. Taste inside or on our shaded patio overlooking the vineyards. Enjoy the beautiful scenery and our award-winning wines while learning about the history of Paso Robles wine country and generations of the Dusi family preserving the Old Vine Zinfandel Vineyards. If you would like to picnic you are welcome to do so after your tasting, in our beautiful picnic area – perhaps with a bottle of wine. A Family Tradition with a new perspective!