Guess Who's Back...

And just in time for ZAP! ZinfanGirl apologizes for falling of the wine-o wagon, but that kind of thing tends to happen around the holidays. Anyhoo, I am back, and am gearing up for a weekend of Zinful fun!

ZinfanHubby & I will be volunteering in the AM at Fort Mason (wristbands & check-in-- come say hi!). After that we will attempt to sample as much grape juice as our little livers can handle. While volunteers are given a shirt to wear during their shifts, I still plan on wearing my snazzy "Living in Zin" hat:

But will I wear my beloved Biale shirt, or switch things up and sport my Four Vines "ZinBitch" tank top? I am quite pleased with my growing collection of wine-o wear, but for this very special event I better keep it Zin-related.

Will I see you there, dear ZinfanReaders?

Review: Seghesio Marian's Reserve 2007 Alexander Valley Red Table Wine

It's been awhile since ZinfanHubby & I have cracked into a Seghesio. We received a club shipment not too long ago and while entertaining guests the other night, decided to pull one out. Our options were either the Marian's Reserve or a Four Vines; having recently opened a Four Vines, Seghesio won out (clearly there was a lack of ZinfanLogic here, as we are going to Templeton this weekend and will surely stop at Four Vines). C'est la vie & stuff.

34% Zinfandel, 33% Petite Syrah (it shows!) and 33% Carignane, this wine packs a punch at a whopping 15.5% alcohol/volume. OK, math lesson over. Maybe ZinfanGirl has become overly sensitive to alcohol over the years, but the boozy-burning scent comes through almost as strongly as the jam of the Zin. As mentioned, the wine looks like a PS: practically purple & inky (in fact, having saved the bottle, I notice a small drip down the white label and it is blue. No exaggeration). Tannins throughout the taste, but they don't suck the moisture out of your mouth too much. The finish is clean and smooth, with a touch of fruit. Drinking this wine makes me want steak. I can't really ID any specific fruit, but the fruitiness is definitely there. This wine is nice: nothing memorable, but that works both ways, yeah?

Clearly ZinfanGirl has *some* fond memories of Seghesio...

Gettin' some ♥ZinfanLove♥ at Seghesio- July '07 (thanks to my ZinfanFriend Lindsey for the pic!)

Review: 2006 Ridge “Old School” Zinfandel

Maybe ZinfanGirl is easily influenced by the name, but this zin had “old vine” written all over it. Well, that’s half correct. “Two of the four chosen parcels contain nineteenth-century vines, two were planted in the 1960s,” reads the label. Hm. Tastes more old vine to me, but who am I to argue with Ridge? ;)

This wine is a clear red, more garnet than ruby (I need to discover more red gemstones; I feel all my reviews regarding color refer to at least one of these two stones). Must be the 15% Carignane, because surely 2% Petite Sirah isn’t enough to affect the color (PS would make it more inky anyway).

Spice, spice, spice… and fruit, of course, but I think spice wins this one. I detect a hint of licorice as well. The palate and back are nice, but there isn’t much to the front. Perhaps I should left this one on the ZinfanRack for a spell? Too late now!

Another good Ridge wine, but nothing special. With respect to the wine, perhaps I should have waited a bit to open but. But it claims to be delicious now (and it is), and once again… who am I to argue with Ridge?
Zin out,
-ZFG

For more info, visit Ridge Old School Zinfandel

Review: 2007 Ravenswood Mendocino County Zinfandel

First of all, apologies for the less-than-great picture. Second of all, my bottle of Ravenswood’s Mendocino zinfandel is in a *green* bottle—does the one in the picture not look clear to you? And by clear I guess I really mean colorless... anyway, I digress.

Ravenswood's wine maker describes this wine as “very Mendocino.” Not being too familiar with wines from the Mendocino region, I will take his word for it. I’m guessing he means that the cooler weather makes wines from here a bit different than their usual Sonoma juice. There’s only one way to find out…

The blue-red hue conjures up images of rubies. My first sip of this tangy yet berry-forward wine brings to mind one distinct flavor: strawberry fruit Roll-ups. The mild tannins are noticeable, but they work well to balance out the front & back while still preserving the berry goodness that is Zinfandel.

So, Mendocino, I may just have to pay you a visit one of these days. Up for a new ZinfanFriend?

For more info, visit Ravenswood Mendocino Co. Zinfandel

Review: 2007 Four Vines “Sophisticate” Zinfandel

Every time I write about Four Vines, I feel compelled to once again thank Brandy at Donati Family for the recommendation. Seriously Brandy, THANK YOU from the bottom of my little ZinfanHeart.

Imagine my delight when, just one month after joining the Four Vines Incident, our first shipment arrived. Sophisticate is unlike any zin I’ve ever tasted. It is delectable to all the senses. The color instantly reveals that this zin has been fooling around with a bit of Petite Sirah: dark ruby with a slight blue-purple tint. The nose is slightly sweet, but not jammy-sweet like most zins; nay, Sophisticate smells a bit like caramel and a bit like licorice. The sensory pleasures continue into the mouth: tangy front, an almost candy-like (but not saccharine) back, and a sensuous finish. I swear it tasted a bit like coconut; Four Vines claims it’s “vanilla oak.” Whatever it is, it’s not traditionally zin-like, but it works.

Four Vines, you’re too good to me.


For more info (but no buying-- Sophisticate is sold out!) Four Vines Sophisticate Zinfandel

Review: 2006 Ridge Zinfandel: Nervo Vineyard, Sonoma Co. ATP

Ah Ridge, thy reputation preceeds you! Actually, you do a fine job of living up to that reputation-- at least, the Judgment of Paris thought so ;)

Imagine my joy when ZinfanHubby came home the other day with shipments from both Ravenswood and Ridge. Imagine my continued joy when ZinfanHubby came home a couple of days later with shipments from the same two wineries. Turns out the thoughtful folks at Ravenswood and Ridge had held our prior shipments until the heat spell passed. Many thanks from ZinfanGirl for your preventive measures!

So, Nervo... it says this wine is enjoyable now, but "will be at its best over the next four to five years." ZinfanGirl stopped paying attention after the "enjoyable now" bit. Upon opening the wine didn't seem very special-- balanced body, very soft tannins, no detectable flavors. But having been aerated for a few minutes now, our little Nervo is warming up: a lush, almost caramel-y sweet nose that carries into the forward taste. Not too sweet-- we should all know by now that ZinfanGirl does not do sweet wines-- and cleans up with an extremely smooth finish. Looking at the wine, you can see what a heavy influence the 7% Petite Sirah has on the color: one may have difficulty pegging this as a zin based on sight alone, as the Nervo has the depth and blue-purple hue of the Petite Sirah. But the traditional zin flavors are revealed to the drinker as soon as the wine is tasted.

Verdict: While delicious, and certainly complex, the Nervo isn't anything uber-special in my book. Perhaps I should've listened and let it chillax for a few years, but what can ya do? :)

Cheers!
-ZFG

Paso Robles: Pics & Report

OK, technically our weekend shenanigans didn't take place in Paso Robles-- rather, Templeton is where the fun happened!

After a hot 3 hour drive from the Bay Area, ZinfanHubby & I checked in to our hotel in Paso Robles then set off for a day of wine.

Donati Family Vineyard (http://www.donatifamilyvineyard.com/)
Our first stop was Donati Family, who had warmly invited us via Twitter. They had one of the widest tasting selections ZinfanGirl has ever seen at a winery-- major kudos there! 8 tastes for ten bucks?! I knew even before tasting their wines that this would not be our last visit.
After choosing our 8 tastes (ZinfanHubby got the bulk of the tastes, as ZinfanGirl drew the short straw and was stuck behind the wheel), we embarked on a delightful tour of Donati's grape juice. Standouts included:

• 2007 Pinot Grigio: absolutely delish! A much more golden hue than I usually see in PGs, and a lovely touch of honey that stops just short of sweet.
• 2006 Claret: the gentleman providing us with the tastes referred to this one as, "having a Dr. Pepper flavor," and I couldn't have described it better myself. Luckily, Dr. Pepper happens to be my favorite soda. The 45% Cab Sauv was definitely noticeable but not overpowering.
• 2007 Late Harvest Cabernet Franc: as you all should know by now, I'm not a fan of the sweet stuff. This one was ZinfanHubby's doing choosing, but even I must admit that for a sweeter wine this one was more than tolerable. It had a much lighter mouthfeel than a traditional Port (read: I didn't feel like I was drinking maple syrup). We snagged a bottle of this treat to take home.

I met Brandy, the Twine-O behind Donati's Twitter presence and the one who extended the invite to us. It's always good to put a face with the name, and I look forward to seeing her again soon.

OK, since I've made you people wait long enough, here's some pics:

ZinfanGirl & ZinfanHubby check out the vines. They look good.

                           

Whoa! Wine-o's crossing!

Turley Wine Cellars (www.turleywinecellars.com)

Oh Turley, I'd like to hate you based on your pretentious reputation alone but your wine is just too frickin' yummy. And you love Zinfandel just as much as I do. And since we're members, we had to swing by.

Though not as friendly as Brandy & the crew at Donati, the tasting room staff consisted of a couple of pleasant ladies. ZinfanHubby & I sat quietly to the side while the women told the less knowledgeable people about why Turley is so great. They were pouring four wines that day, all Zinfandels. Yummm! We almost always have a bottle or two of Juvenile on hand, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. I most enjoyed the 2006 Dusi vineyard, with its nearly-perfect blend of jam & spice. We were also treated to a couple of tastes not on the tasting menu, which both happened to be my favorites:

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  2006 Ueberroth Vineyard Zinfandel: a little bit of everything! This wine, made with grapes from a 120 year old vineyard (that's old. Really old. Like, older than ZinfanHubby old.) contains notes of tobacco, spice, herbs and dark red fruit. The finish is like satin. What a treat.
  
  
  
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  White Coat: I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but Turley makes a white wine. It's called White Coat and it is only available for purchase at the winery. This blend of rousanne & granache blanc has a nice, clean finish and very low acid. We nabbed a few bottles of this.
  
  
  

However, the real deal of the day was the Pesenti red wine. I guess Turley had too many non-Turley-worthy grapes and created an inexpensive red blend named after their Pesenti vineyard. At $10 a bottle, we had to buy a case (again, available for sale only at the winery).

Intersection at Turley. Which way do I go?!

I don't think we'd have been able to taste if they weren't...

Four Vines Winery (www.fourvines.com)

Brandy at Donati Family recommended this one to us, and... well let's just say we walked away as their newest club members (called the Four Vines Incident-- how cool is that?!). If I had to recommend one winery in the area to visit, this is it. GO. Do not think twice about it. Their tasting room was under construction, and a good sized crowd was gathered in a dinky back room, but the fun energy was not at all compromised. First of all, they give you their customized wine glasses (collect all 6!) with their rockin' logos on them. ZinfanHubby got one with the anarchy symbol on it, and ZinfanGirl got... wait for it... zinbitch. I have arrived.

OK, cool glasses does not a great wine tasting make. The staff was part biker bar, part Coyote Ugly. With names like Naked, Heretic and Loco, we just knew these wines would be a force to be reckoned with. By this point ZinfanGirl had to slow her tastings down, but wow did we get a lot of tastes! I can't single out one or two or even four as being my favorites; Four Vines as a whole was the highlight of our entire weekend. Fortunately, we ended up joining the Four Vines Incident and walking away with almost a case of wine, a magnum of the Loco, a "zinbitch" shirt for yours truly, a handful of temporary tattoos and of course, our glasses. The one thing we did not leave Four Vines with was pictures-- next time, for sure.

Castoro Cellars (http://www.castorocellars.com/)

Come evening, it was finally time for some dam fine wine (hey, that rhymes. HEY! That kinda rhymed too!). Castoro was nice responsible enough to send a shuttle to the hotels so us wine lovers didn't risk that horrible drinking & driving stuff. My inner child giggled when their shuttle turned out to be a big yellow schoolbus.

Brief history lesson here: the reason ZinfanHubby & I fell in love with Castoro is because of Horace the beaver. Horace has lived in ZinfanHubby's car since before we met. According to ZinfanLegend, Horace controls the weather by keeping the rain away (did you know beavers build dams because they are psychologically disturbed by running water?!). Yes, ZinfanHubby is a special guy, but that's why we I love him.

It wouldn't be a true Castoro party without our little castor, so Horace came with. The big yellow bus pulled up just as the sun was setting. Castoro-ites moved down the line offering andouille & musard apps, and glasses of their Viognier poured straight from a Rehoboam-- that's like six bottles in one! I knew those cave tours during my stint in Champagne taught me something. One helluva way to get the party started!

The evening progressed with more apps & a delicious BBQ dinner, which was the perfect belly buster for Castoro's selection of red wines (which were flowin' freely, natch). The fun continued with a raffle (we didn't win) and music trivia (we left before the winners were announced). The band was rockin' and everyone was having a good time. ZinfanHubby & I sat back and enjoyed watching the scene. We caught the big yellow bus back to our hotel and called it a (frickin' awesome) day!

ZinfanHubby meets the Rehoboam!

Horace enjoys the dam fine wine from his bretheren.

And the band kept the party going well into the night!

Wow! What a post! So there you have it kids: our weekend in Paso Robles! Can you believe we'll be back down again in November?

Keeping drinking the dam fine wine, from Castoro or wherever. Cheers!

-ZFG

P.S.- If you're a glutton for punishment and need more "ZinfanGirl Does Paso Robles" pictures, please go here: www.tinyurl.com/mbn2yo

Hunting the Black Chicken, Part II

Wow, I am ZinfanSlacking! But I am determined to punch out the rest of the Black Chicken adventure before ZinfanHubby & I head to Paso Robles this weekend.

So, where were we? Ah yes, leaving Regusci winery...

Next stop: Robert Biale vineyards! ZinfanHubby is responsible for introducing me to this treasure. They are appointment-only, and make extraordinary wines. It's worth a visit just to hear the Black Chicken story (which ZinfanGirl knows, but also knows she will never give it the story-telling justice it deserves).

The party was already underway when Noah & I arrived. The wine was flowin' freely and the food was nothing short of delightful!

After filling our bellies with some of the delicious grub, I showed Noah around Biale's grounds. First was the barrel room:

I suspect the barrels in the foreground were put up to keep Black Chicken Society members from wandering back there...

In addition to big steel tanks, Biale has several wooden barrels. French Oak (I'm assuming it's chêne-- oak) I'd heard of but Hungarian?? Need to look into that one!

Noah was especially striken by the barrels that were literally seeping with the goodness. We tried to guess what wine(s) were in which barrels, how long they had been in there, etc., but never confirmed our guesses. There's always next time!

Aldo & Clementina Biale are the reason the Black Chicken exists. Aldo is now in his 90s! They were graciously signing the souvenier glasses and were such delights to chat with. ZinfanGirl's autographed Biale glass is proudly displayed in her "really frickin' awesome, could never be replaced" collection of glasses (from Porto, Champagne, etc).

And of course, we had to get a picture of ZinfanGirl & Noah:

You can't really tell, but my shirt says, "Zinfandel" and has the Robert Biale logo on the bottom right side. Yes, I did decide to wear the shirt, and I rocked it proudly!!!

OK, enough with the pictures already. Let's talk some wine!!!

Biale was pouring all of their wines, and while Noah indulged himself, ZinfanGirl was on driving duty and hence had to keep her tastings under control (for wine anyway. The food is another story). The most memorable stand-outs:

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  Pollo Bianco: The Pollo Bianco (white chicken) is the only white wine produced by Biale. It is about as good as a Sauvignon Blanc can get. It is always released in limited quantities, so ZinfanHubby & I snag as many as we can. It tastes and looks like summer, and I definitely suggest grabbing some if the opportunity ever arises.
  
  
  

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  Black Chicken: The darling of Biale vineyards, this zinfandel has just enough jam to give it that yum-yum mouth & fruity flavor, yet can easily stand up to spice and BBQ. If I could only drink one wine for the rest of my life, it would probably be Black Chicken (or a Turley zin... nah, it would be Black Chicken).
  
  
  

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  Royal Punishers Petite Sirah: It seems unfair to ZinfanGirl that a winery as small as Biale can make a Petite Sirah just as well as they can make Zin. If you're in the mood for a dark, brooding wine, this is an excellent choice.
  
  
  

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  Stagecoach Zin: The Stagecoach grapes are grown at a higher elevation than Black Chicken. I suggest a side-by-side taste & compare to really note the subtle yet distinct differences in these two Zins.
  
  
  

• Party Line Zinfandel: Not to be confused with the Party Line Petite Sirah reviewed here. When ZinfanHubby & I visited Biale last May, there was talk that the new Party Line Zin may possibily be more delicious than the Black Chicken. Naturally, this was unacceptable-- nothing could be better than the Black Chicken, they exclaimed! While this wine is a delight, I think their fears were unfounded. Nothing tops Black Chicken!

Noah & I walked away with almost 2 cases of goodness, full bellies, and souvenier glasses (one autographed). ZinfanGirl is proud to have initiated another ZinfanFriend into the world of wine, and is looking forward to returning to Biale very soon!
And if you absolutely must know how Black Chicken got its name, please see http://www.robertbialevineyards.com/blackchicken.html

Squawk squawk!!!

-ZinfanGirl