Bringing J Dusi into the public realm of the wine industry has been a life-long dream for me. I grew up living on the vineyard, participating in grape farming, and begging for my Grandfather to teach me the winemaking process. I wanted to further my education and involvement in closing the gap between farming grapes and drinking the finished product, a great wine.
My first vintage was when I was sixteen. I lined up buying a fifteen gallon barrel, a nice and clean trashcan, and some cheesecloth! My Grandfather and I spent hours daily staring at the fermenting grapes in the trashcan, as he was explaining what was happening in the bubbling must. I knew that he could guide me through the process from recollection of the days when his family ran the original âDusi Wineryâ back in the 50âs. This was a good starting point for me, especially since I was only sixteen. I learned, from him, the REAL Italian way to make wine, which happened to be a light variation of todayâs California styles wines.
Each harvest after 1996, I made one fifty-nine gallon barrel of Zinfandel wine. Each year brought different questions; high sugars, too much juice and different elements that made me turn to friends in the wine industry for help and support! Everyone in the community was great and extended advice and suggestions to help me along my path. I toured and stayed at UC Davis while I was in High School, thinking that I wanted to head toward an enology majorâŚ.but then I toured UC Santa Barbara! I figured that there were many great winemakers out there that never majored in winemaking, but followed their heart, why couldnât I do that? I graduated UCSB in 2002 and packed everything I owned and traveled through Australia, the South Pacific, and South East Asia. Traveling was in my blood, and I loved every second that I was in a different country and culture. My extensive traveling all over the world made me appreciate and love San Luis Obispo when I returned in 2003.
It wasnât until 2005 that I decided to âgo for it!â With the encouragement of others loving the homemade wine, and knowing that my dream was to always make my own label and travel the world selling it, I took the leap. Now I have my third vintage of J Dusi Wines available and ready to drink! Salute!
Our History
My Great-Grandparents, Sylvester and Caterina Dusi settled into Paso Robles in the early twenties. Between the years 1923-1933, they had three sons; Guido, Dante and Benito Dusi. They were active proprietors in many local businesses including; vineyards, farming, restaurants, and Dusi Winery. I was born and raised on the vineyard that my Grandfather Dante, his father and two brothers planted in 1945. As vineyards were rare in the area at that time, Zinfandel was the Italian varietal of choice. They implemented the farming practices of head pruned vines and no irrigation, dry farming. Today, 65 years later, we still carry on their farming traditions and uphold one of the areas most loved vineyards. Dusi grapes can be found in some of the most sought after Zinfandels in Paso Robles like Turley, Four Vines, Cypher, Tobin James, and JC Cellars.
On any given day, you can drive into our vineyard, and you will find four generations working or playing in the vines. Day to day operations are a family endeavor; disking fields, suckering vines, hand pruning, and life on the vineyard. Harvest is another storyâŚ.the ENTIRE family participates daily in order to get the vineyard picked at ripe sugars and delivered in perfect condition. We are the tractor drivers in the fields, we are scattered among the pickers, and we are the first to call donut break at harvest time! My nephews Dante 7 and Parker 2 and niece Delaney 4, are out there pulling leaves out of the bins, ensuring that the fruit is delivered clean and beautiful to a few local wineries. They are long hours and hot days, but always gratifying!
I hope you enjoy every drop of J Dusi WinesâŚ
And feel the time and love that went into it!
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Monica and I were privileged to be LabRats for this wine. We opened it a couple of hours before our dinner and decanted. The wine was quite fruit forward at first, but with time it settled down and was quite enjoyable. We enjoyed it with a Flannery Beef Hanger Steak and baked potato.
It was quite inky purple in color. We noted hints of tobacco with red fruit, (cherry and strawberries) and some smoke. We felt that the tannins were high, but mellowed with time. This has a lot of acidity that held up well to the steak.
We thought that the cork - was quite cute with the âKilled the bottle with ___________â
Highly recommend this wine - and look forward to having it in the future⌠quite a good QPRâŚ
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2017 J Dusi Escandalosa Red Blend - $60 = 23.06%
@JDusiWines@pseudogourmet98 same! Iâve bought several here on CM, and actually drinking a Model M tonight. The Model M drinks well above itâs price point. Itâs fantastic and goes great with cheese and Moroccan lentil soup tonight!
Rat Report! Rat Report! Sorry for the late arrival but my Rattage bottles always arrive the very night before for some reason!
I have to admit, when I saw the box I was praying it was white because Iâd already defrosted chicken for dinner, but was very happy to see a J Dusi, a brand Iâd not thought about in a long while, but that Iâd been familiar with on and off over the years and know they usually know what theyâre doing.
This is definitely not chicken-dish wine, but it was very enjoyable. Very fruit-forward and âfruityâ out of the glass, with bright blackberry and crushed brambly-like berries on the nose. There was a touch of heat on the nose straight away, but at (ahem) 14.8 âsuggestedâ alcohol (on the bottle), thatâs no surprise. This slipped away, however, and I was glad to see that the booziness didnât overwhelm the fruitiness, on the nose and on the palate.
While there is Zin present here, and you get it, the Mourvèdre is prominent, with a lot of summer pie flavors, blackberry, blueberry⌠some pie-crust and pie-spice that linger a bit, and a bright kick of acidity, which was welcome. Where Zin tends to be fuller, with richer mouthfeel and longer finish, the Mourvèdre again was the âthere thereâ, with a cleaner, brighter mouth-feel and a brighter and cleaner finish. I like the acidity, a lot.
I had a 2nd glass this morning (yes I did) before the coffee just to make sure I ratted it out good, and with 12 hours open it also got a bit of a really ripe strawberry note to it- not over-ripe, pleasant, but interesting and again I will say that Iâm sooooo happy the Zin factor didnât bully out the other notes here, but instead I think just lended some backbone and certainly beautiful, rich color.
This is a really nice food wine, and if youâre looking at keeping the big green egg fired up from now thru October, Iâd say you need cases of this to see you through. xo your friend, Tastebuddy
Thanks again Janell, for sharing your stash with usâŚthink this will make six cases of J Dusi in the wine cellar/basement, (varying amount of bottles in each case). As a home winemaker for about 30 years, I was very interested/impressed that you started out as a home winemaker, with family and friends input⌠(now I just let casemates keep me supplied) When I see a J Dusi show up in the morning, I order it before getting out of bedâŚitâs always great!
Have regretted not getting in on other of the J Dusi red wine offers. Not this timeâŚin for a case! Their Pinot Grigio is really good and I have been hoping to see that come around again especially with summer coming up.
@dawnlac@JDusiWines
Agreed. My favorite PG. I have purchased from WW, CM and directly from the winery. Have probably gone through more bottles of J. Dusi PG than any other single wine!
@chipgreen@dawnlac Yes, Pinot Grigio is the perfect Summer wine⌠2020 vintage is abnormally low so we wonât have on casemates this year but hopefully in the years to come again! Cheers!
I purchased a case last night, and then went to bed. Looking at my email this morning I see that somehow it went through as two individual orders of a case. I donât need two cases. Apparently you can cancel within an hour, but not later. I sent in a customer service request, does anyone have other suggestions? (Yes, I know; drink more, gifts, etc., but I am looking for service request suggestions). @Winedavid49@WCCWineGirl
Well, itâs now July 11, 2023, two years since offered, Iâve moved from Iowa to Arkansas, and brought my wines with me, two full years of aging/storage& 655 miles of bumpy roads. Rereading the Ratâs reports. 8 years now since grapes left the vine, itâs no longer IMHO âFruit Forwardâ but mellowed into a wonderful red drinking (table?) wine
2017 J Dusi Escandalosa Red Blend
Tasting Notes
Specs
Whatâs Included
3-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$543.60/Case at J. Dusi Wines for 12x 2017 J Dusi Escandalosa Red Blend
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Thursday, May 13 - Monday, May 17
J Dusi Escandalosa Red Blend
3 bottles for $64.99 $21.66/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $199.99 $16.67/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2017 J Dusi Escandalosa
Youâd think by now theyâd correct the gender error ⌠but Nooooooo!
@MarkDaSpark @dave
Request submitted.
Any SoCalâers want to split a case?
@MarkDaSpark I am in. You still hsve Bernardus PN and something else for me? Let me know!
@MarkDaSpark yes please sign me up!
@i8dacat @MarkDaSpark
Iâd help with a bottle or two; if available.
No worries if they arenât.
@i8dacat @rjquillin @losthighwayz
/giphy handmade-wimpy-coat
Monica and I were privileged to be LabRats for this wine. We opened it a couple of hours before our dinner and decanted. The wine was quite fruit forward at first, but with time it settled down and was quite enjoyable. We enjoyed it with a Flannery Beef Hanger Steak and baked potato.
It was quite inky purple in color. We noted hints of tobacco with red fruit, (cherry and strawberries) and some smoke. We felt that the tannins were high, but mellowed with time. This has a lot of acidity that held up well to the steak.
We thought that the cork - was quite cute with the âKilled the bottle with ___________â
Highly recommend this wine - and look forward to having it in the future⌠quite a good QPRâŚ
@vwsmaltz Thank you for the report. That is a clever cork. Now I want some of this.
In for a case
/giphy kept-artistic-mouth
Anyone near Indy interested in a split? J Dusi is usually an auto-buy, but Iâm running out of room âŚ
Any central NYers (Syracuse, Utica area) interested in splitting a case?
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2017 J Dusi Escandalosa Red Blend - $60 = 23.06%
Havenât had a wine from J Dusi that we didnât love.
@pseudogourmet98 So happy to hear you are enjoying the wines!
@JDusiWines @pseudogourmet98 same! Iâve bought several here on CM, and actually drinking a Model M tonight. The Model M drinks well above itâs price point. Itâs fantastic and goes great with cheese and Moroccan lentil soup tonight!
Rat Report! Rat Report! Sorry for the late arrival but my Rattage bottles always arrive the very night before for some reason!
I have to admit, when I saw the box I was praying it was white because Iâd already defrosted chicken for dinner, but was very happy to see a J Dusi, a brand Iâd not thought about in a long while, but that Iâd been familiar with on and off over the years and know they usually know what theyâre doing.
This is definitely not chicken-dish wine, but it was very enjoyable. Very fruit-forward and âfruityâ out of the glass, with bright blackberry and crushed brambly-like berries on the nose. There was a touch of heat on the nose straight away, but at (ahem) 14.8 âsuggestedâ alcohol (on the bottle), thatâs no surprise. This slipped away, however, and I was glad to see that the booziness didnât overwhelm the fruitiness, on the nose and on the palate.
While there is Zin present here, and you get it, the Mourvèdre is prominent, with a lot of summer pie flavors, blackberry, blueberry⌠some pie-crust and pie-spice that linger a bit, and a bright kick of acidity, which was welcome. Where Zin tends to be fuller, with richer mouthfeel and longer finish, the Mourvèdre again was the âthere thereâ, with a cleaner, brighter mouth-feel and a brighter and cleaner finish. I like the acidity, a lot.
I had a 2nd glass this morning (yes I did) before the coffee just to make sure I ratted it out good, and with 12 hours open it also got a bit of a really ripe strawberry note to it- not over-ripe, pleasant, but interesting and again I will say that Iâm sooooo happy the Zin factor didnât bully out the other notes here, but instead I think just lended some backbone and certainly beautiful, rich color.
This is a really nice food wine, and if youâre looking at keeping the big green egg fired up from now thru October, Iâd say you need cases of this to see you through. xo your friend, Tastebuddy
@tastebud
This case does nothing to change the fact I do not own a big green egg. Enjoy your grilling season.
@tastebud Fun to read this review. Wine - itâs whatâs for breakfast.
Anyone in the ATL want to split a case? I am so sorry I missed out on the Scott Harvey yesterday. Vacillating got me nowhere.
Always liked everything Janell has made. Like her old vine family vineyards.
Never tried, but always think their bottles look classy.
Thanks again Janell, for sharing your stash with usâŚthink this will make six cases of J Dusi in the wine cellar/basement, (varying amount of bottles in each case). As a home winemaker for about 30 years, I was very interested/impressed that you started out as a home winemaker, with family and friends input⌠(now I just let casemates keep me supplied) When I see a J Dusi show up in the morning, I order it before getting out of bedâŚitâs always great!
@winecaseaholic Wow, thatâs great! Happy to hear you are enjoying the wines!
Have regretted not getting in on other of the J Dusi red wine offers. Not this timeâŚin for a case! Their Pinot Grigio is really good and I have been hoping to see that come around again especially with summer coming up.
@dawnlac @JDusiWines
Agreed. My favorite PG. I have purchased from WW, CM and directly from the winery. Have probably gone through more bottles of J. Dusi PG than any other single wine!
@chipgreen @dawnlac Yes, Pinot Grigio is the perfect Summer wine⌠2020 vintage is abnormally low so we wonât have on casemates this year but hopefully in the years to come again! Cheers!
@JDusiWines
/giphy Noooooooooo
I purchased a case last night, and then went to bed. Looking at my email this morning I see that somehow it went through as two individual orders of a case. I donât need two cases. Apparently you can cancel within an hour, but not later. I sent in a customer service request, does anyone have other suggestions? (Yes, I know; drink more, gifts, etc., but I am looking for service request suggestions). @Winedavid49 @WCCWineGirl
@pseudogourmet98 Did you email service?
@klezman
Yup
@pseudogourmet98 I hope you get a replyâŚ
anyone want to split a case 2 or 3 ways? Iâm in So NH or Boston area. netcommsyn at comcast dot net.
Any pdx split interest?
/giphy ecstatic-tedious-tuna
Mine arrived today, broke into a bottle tonight. Had never had it before and bought it based on all the commentsâŚit is so good. Thanks all!
@cbilyak great news!
@cbilyak AgreeâŚso good
Thanks everyone for all the comments that helped me make my purchase.
So what was the final SoCal split? Got muddled towards the end. I recall an even split with Sparky.
Well, itâs now July 11, 2023, two years since offered, Iâve moved from Iowa to Arkansas, and brought my wines with me, two full years of aging/storage& 655 miles of bumpy roads. Rereading the Ratâs reports. 8 years now since grapes left the vine, itâs no longer IMHO âFruit Forwardâ but mellowed into a wonderful red drinking (table?) wine