Quick Review: Madrona Zinfandel 2010

US, CA, El Dorado, Madrona Zinfandel 2010
+ // Fruity  // Cedar, Graphite, Dried cherry // Strawberry, Pepper, Graphite, Nutmeg, Candied apple // Full

Big savory flavors with a strong fruit backbone.

Quick Review: Vinum Cellars Zinfandel 2012

US, CA, Vinum Cellars Zinfandel 2012
+ // Fruity //  Ripe cherry, Raspberry, Cloves // Berry, Graphite // Medium

Feels more like a Merlot on the tongue--big fruitiness. Missing the white pepper notes we expected.

Quick Review: Bogle "Phantom" 2010

US, CA, Bogle "Phantom" 2010
+ // Smooth  // Chocolate, Leather, Cherry, Cloves, Nutmeg // Maraschino cherry, Leather, Pepper, Dark chocolate // Full

This is a Zinfandel. Whereas Italy has its Primitivo, California has the sister grape, the Zinfandel.

Quick Review: Tenute Rubino Primitivo 2009

Italy, Salento, Tenute Rubino, Primitivo 2009
++ // Fruity // Earthy, Raspberry // Cherry, Blackberry, Tanin // Medium

Think: "Italian Zinfandel"

Did You Know?... About Primitivo

Primitivo is a red grape from Italy. For a long time, it was considered to be identical to Zinfandel, but recent genetic studies have shown them to be close genetic clones of an older varietal, Crljenak. To most of us, this means very little, and they can still be thought of as the same grape.

Quick Review: Wines at The Forge

We couldn't go wrong - the wines were exceptional at The Forge.

US, CA, Napa Valley, Sterling "Three Palms" Merlot 2008

++ // Fruity // Bright ripe fruit

Fr, Bordeaux, Chateau-Bel Air, St Emillon

++ // Earthy // Tart Fruit, Earth,

US, CA, Ravenswood Zinfandel "Teldeschi" 2008

++ // Fruity // Cherry, Berry, Pepper // Medium-Full

Did You Know?... The Difference Between White Zinfandel and Rosé of Zinfandel

You might recognize White Zinfandel as your mother’s drink of choice. It often comes in a box; it sells like crazy and has done for the past 30 years. It is often referred to as "blush" wine. Sugar is added during fermentation of Zinfandel grapes to produce this sweet drink. Because it is sweet, it is often associated with feminine preference, much like a Cosmo cocktail. (In fact, whenever Nathan orders a glass of rosé, the waiter often gives it to Tina.) We find White Zinfandel to be as sickly sweet, in fact. Not for us, but we recognize their popularity, for good reason. 

White Zinfandel is not to be confused with Rosé of Zinfandel. Rosé to us is a type of production method. It means that the skins of the red grapes are left in the barrel during fermentation just long enough to give the wine its bitter edge to complement its sweetness. While White Zinfandel is also produced this way, wines called rosé are most often produced bone-dry. In fact, their crispness makes for a perfect summer drink. Although you drink them chilled, they retain the meatiness of a red.

Why is this important? Because wine servers and wine shop owners mix up the verbiage. Tina recently made the mistake of accepting a White Zinfandel because it was referred to as a “rosé” wine, and not too long after almost turned down an interesting Cotes de Provence rosé when the server announced the wines as “we have a red and a white zinfandel.” It was neither Zinfandel, nor a “white Zinfandel.” It was a rosé and probably a blend of various red grapes from that region.

To make sure you know what you are ordering, ask the server if the wine is “dry” or “sweet” and then don’t be afraid to ask to see the bottle if your server seems unsure. And of course, try everything, you never know what you might like.

 

Quick Reviews: Pedroncelli Red Wines

US, CA, Sonoma Valley, Pedroncelli Winery Dry Rosé of Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley, Signature Collection 2012 ++ // Funky // Light petrol, apple // Candy apple, grapefruit rind // Light

Very complex. A bit astringent, but not in a bad way at all. The bitterness is offset by the sweet fruit flavor. Great as a pre-dinner sipping wine. It reminded us of Campari, but was not as bitter. Got the saliva flowing. Our favorite wine from the Pedroncelli Winery mailing.


US, CA, Sonoma Valley, Pedroncelli Winery “Friends Red” 2011
++ // Fruity - Earthy // Dark berry // Dark berry, cooking spices (clove, cardamom), tannins graphite // Medium

A blend of Merlot, Zinfandel, Petit Sirah, and Syrah. Almost inky in color, this complex red starts out fruity, moves on to earthy, and then finishes tart. A very drinkable and versatile table wine.


US, CA, Sonoma Valley, Pedroncelli Winery Bench Vineyards Merlot 2011
++ // Fruity // Raspberry // Raspberry, cherry, white pepper // Medium

Very juicy and fruity. The white pepper “spice” on the finish balances the fruit well.

Quick Review: Ravenswood "Teldeschi" Zinfandel 2008

US, CA, Ravenswood Zinfandel "Teldeschi" 2008

++ // Fruity // Cherry, Berry, Pepper // Medium-Full

Quick Review: Decoy Zinfandel 2010

US, CA, Sonoma, Decoy Zinfandel 2010
+ // Fruity // Strawberry, Caramel // Cherry, Cola, White pepper // Med

Paired with a mushroom, spinach and strawberry salad, it was a nice fruity complement to the meal. In this case, knowing what wine we planned to drink, I looked for a recipe with mushroom as an earthy counterpoint, and strawberry to complement the wine.

Back To The Wine

Finally, Tina can get back to exploring wine. Nine short months ago, she had to stop drinking wine. The surgeon general says pregnant women should not drink any alcohol. The research shows "moderate" consumption does not impact on a fetus, but the exact line isn't clear, and she wasn't about to experiment with our baby. So other than a few sips from some some of my better glasses, our exploration of wine has been pretty one-sided for a while.

Unfortuntely, Baby Vinacular did not get the correct time table, and was trying to hold out for an extra couple of weeks. So, following the sage advice of the internet, I offered to bring home a bottle so Tina could have a glass and hopefully induce labor. Directed by her to bring home a Zinfandel, I stumbled across something familiar: a California Zinfandel with a duck on the label, going by the name of "Decoy." Sure enough, it was the table wine label from Duckhorn. More pocketbook friendly than their high-end wines, its being a Duckhorn still gave me confidence in the quality of the product.

We were pleased with the choice. The wine was a little tight when first opened, but blossomed quickly with some ripe red fruit flavors, giving us a vibrant, juicy wine to enjoy. We finished our glasses then set the bottle aside. Little did we know that the next night would see us in the hospital, and we wouldn't be able to get back to it for several days. Imagine our suprise when we returned home with our new baby, and decided that we'd give the remainder of the bottle a go. The ripe fruit had grown even further, into a deep, almost jammy flavor. It isn't really ecommended to let a wine sit for that long, but we are glad it turned out like it did. It held up much better than expected to the aging process after 6 days.

With the new addition to our family safe and sound at home, we are looking forward to getting back to tryig new wines together. And for our first bottle, it was nice to be reminded of the fun learning experiences we can share.

Quick Reviews: Benmarl Zinfandel 2011

US, NY, Hudson Valley, Benmarl Winery, Zinfandel 2011
+ // Fruity/Spicy // Strawberry Preserves // Strawberry, Pepper, Chocolate, Jalapeno // Medium

Made from Californian grapes imported into New York, this was a surprisingly spicy Zinfandel.

Quick Review: Bogle Phantom 2009

US, CA, Bogle "Phantom," 2009
+ // Spicy // Strawberry, pepper, leather // Berry, pepper finish // Medium

A blend of zinfandel and petite sirah, with just a hint of mourvedre, the flavor was big, exploding in the mouth. Paired with sliders, the sweet and spiciness of the wine really complemented the meat.

2012 Quick Reviews - Red Wine Readers' Favorites

It seems like 2012 was the year of Pinot Noir. Here are the five most popular Quick Reviews (determined by pageview) for red wines in 2012.

5. Mark West Pinot Noir
4. Cardinal Point Reserve Cabernet Franc
3. Heart & Hands Pinot Noir Reserve
2. Three Californian Zinfandels
1. Viridian Pinot Noir

Quick Review: Ravenswood Old Vine Zinfandel 2009

US, California, Ravenswood Winery, Old Vine Zinfandel, 2009

+ // Earthy // Leather, spice, black cherry // Black cherry, strawberry, black pepper // Full-bodied

Served with crispy pork (wild boar), spicy knudel, apple sauce: fruit notes come out with the apple sauce.

Quick Review: MonteVina Zinfandel

US, CA, MonteVina Terra d'Oro, Zinfandel 2003
+ // Earthy // Chocolate, Earth, Petrol // Earth, Bitter Chocolate, Unripe Jalapeno // Heavy

Not surprising with an older wine, this one needed time to breathe. We were expecting a fruitier wine, but there was a hint of sweetness buried in the deep, earthy flavors that paired well with our dinner of Mac & Cheese. We seldom look at this when we buy our wine, but as is fairly common with Californian wines, it was "hot" -- meaning a high alcohol content of 15% ABV in this case.

Homemade Mac & Cheese

With the cold weather settling in, it's time to make hearty, warming dinners, and of course to find great wines to pair with these heavier meals. It should come as no surprise that when we want something warm and gooey, we make a big dish of Mac & Cheese.

Mac& Cheese is great, because it's easy to make at home, and, if you put a little bit of effort into selecting the cheese, you can end up something very special. We find some great cheeses at our local farmer's market. This time around, we selected an aged cheddar for the main cheese, and a blue cheese for added flavor and richness. Then the trick was to find some wine to go along with it.

Both cheeses had strong flavors: sweet, salt, and a bit of funk from the blue cheese, and more sweet from the cheddar, with some nuttiness. To this end, we decided to look for a strong red wine, with some fruit notes to match the sweet cheese. Walking the aisles of our local wine shop, we spotted something interesting; a 2003 Zinfandel, and decided to give it a try. While the wine wasn't as fruity as we expected, we still made a good selection: the wine was old and rich, with deep earthy notes that held up to the rich cheese, and balanced with the sweetness of the dinner.

It's simple pairings like this that can bring us great joys. We like to experiment with trying new wines, and finding the best dish to match, but its good to know we can make simple selections, and that they will result in a perfectly wonderful dinner.

Mac & Cheese:
1 box Elbow Macaroni
4 tbsp Butter
4 tbsp Flour
2 Cups Milk
4 oz shredded Hard Cheese (Cheddar, Swiss, etc)
4 oz Soft Cheese (Blue, Goat, etc)
1 Cup Breadcrumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the macaroni and cook until al dente, approximetly 8 to 10 minutes, then drain.
3. In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter, then add the flour and stir until smooth. Add the milk and stir until the mixture thickens. Add the cheese and stir until melted.
4. Pour the macaroni into a greased 9x13 pan, then pour the cheese over the macaroni and stir in. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the top of the mixture, then bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.

 Enjoy!

Quick Review: Brooklyn Winery Rose of Zinfandel

US, NY, Brooklyn Winery Rose of Old Zinfandel 2011

+ // Fruity  // Berry, Plum, Vanilla // Tart cherry, Sawdust // Medium
Layered, not too sweet

Quick Review: Three California Zinfandels (Part 2)

US, California, N. Sonoma, Carol Shelton Wines, Mendocino County, Zinfandel, Wild Thing Old Vine, 2008 
++ / Fruity / Berry / Cherry / Full Bodied

There was no tartness or spice in this wine. In fact, the wine was "creamy" due to the wild yeast used for production.

US, California, N. Sonoma, Pedroncelli Winery, Dry Creek Valley, Dry Rose of Zinfandel, 2010 
++ / Crisp / Berry / Strawberry, Plum / Light Bodied

 This is how white zinfandel is meant to be! This rose wine was crisp and mouthwatering, and had a bright red color to it. We’ve become fans of rose wines in the past year or so, once we realized they were all not the pink zinfandels of yesteryear. Mmmm…

US, California, N. Sonoma, BarefootCellars, Lodi, Zinfandel, NV 

+ / Fruity / Berry / Strawberry / Full Bodied

Included because Barefoot Cellars is distributed everywhere, but the Zinfandel less so. Ask for it: at less than $7/bottle, a risk-free way to get started with zinfandel. And NV means it will taste the same year over year. Enjoy!

Note in the above, that, while the wineries are all located in N. Sonoma County, California, the grapes were sourced from vineyards across California. This is a very European style of wine production – go where the grapes are great, produce where you have your winery.

Did you know? . . . About Zinfandel

Zinfandel is called “America’s Heritage Wine” by Zinfandel Advocates & Producers. The grape is thought to be one of the oldest varietals from which wine is still being made, and was introduced to California vineyards in 1852. Today, the grape has become synonymous with California in the world’s wine market.
 
When thinking of Zinfandel, many people remember the pink drink, called “White Zinfandel” that was popular in the 1980s and which has earned the grape a reputation for producing girly wines.

Not so! Zinfandel is lush, fruity, and bold.  Zinfandel wines are most often characterized by the fruit note, which leans towards cherry, strawberry, and boysenberry. Thanks to differences in the AOC regions of California, a wide range of Zinfandel options exist, from spicy to fruity to tart. The grape is sometimes blended with Petite Sirah to round out its flavors. The fruit is often very ripe when harvested, and the result is that most zinfandel wines are high in alcohol content, as high as 15% or more.

Overall, think of Zinfandel as your fruitiest of wines (not sweet, fruity!), and expect pepper and tartness as part of the deal.

Fun with labels, particularly this play off the grapes shorthand, "Zin."