If you love Zins and want to broaden your palate with new and interesting choices, then this is the event for you! The mac daddy of Zinfandel tastings is big, zany, a bit overwhelming and a whole lot of fun!
There were over 200 wineries split between two giant warehouses loosely organized in alphabetical order. Within you'll find water, loaves of bread to tote around and various cheese stations to help cleanse your palate. Step outside to get some air and watch the sailboats play around Alcatraz.
I recommend arriving as early as possible because by 3pm it gets crowded, loud and lines form at popular wineries. Sort of like a Friday night in the reception area of the most popular restaurant in town. I also recommend going out of your Zin comfort zone and experiment - try some you've never heard of, talk to the winemakers (many of whom are doing the pouring), and talk to other tasters - you may just walk away with a fantastic gem.My favorite barrel sample of the day was from Chatom Vineyards 2008. Definitely fruit forward with low tannin levels. The expected release will be around 2011 or early 2012 - delicious, I'm a big fan! I also ran into the very cool Hardy Wallace of Murphy Goode who poured us a bit of the crowd-pleasing, dry and earthy '07 Liar's Dice from Sonoma, but my palate favored the garnet colored, strong tannin '06 Snake Eyes from Alexander Valley; maybe that's because I've always wanted to dominate on Craps.
Mine? Scott Harvey's 2007 Vineyard 1869 from Amador County made from 140-year old vines in the oldest documented vineyard in the US. Lightly floral nose; velvety smooth on the palate with notes of coffee; and a nice, long, silky finish - loved it!
I was fairly diligent in pouring out as much as possible - just a taste or two before pouring out the rest so I could last through the afternoon. I ended up tasting about 30 different wines, but couldn't bring myself to pour out the following standouts:
- 2007 Lodi from Deep Purple Winery in Napa. Light, easy drinking. One of my favs, probably because it paired perfectly with their wine infused brownies!
- 2007 Fiddletown from Rombauer in St. Helena - a crowd favorite. Dark berries. Come holla at ya momma, this is a nice, fat zin.
- 2006 Dry Creek Valley from Artezin Wines in Napa. Fruit-forward, spicy, elegant, well-balanced, luxurious finish
The fun find of the day goes to Bota Box and their 2008 Old Vine from Mendocino. Wine in a box, but it was good, really! A little spicy, a little sweet (jammy), low tannin. Paired well with those little green squares of chocolate. The box is 100% recyclable, holds 4 bottles of wine and will last 45 days - perfect for camping trips!
Check-out the Facebook ZAP album for other wineries visited. Next year is going to be ZAP's 20th birthday and it is going to be a great party! Grab a friend and plan to have a wonderful, zany time!
Till next time,
Salud!
Sarita,
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome for the tickets, I am glad that you used them so well. The wines we drank and enjoyed were completely different wines, so, between the two of us, our readers get even more recommendations to consider trying.
I am sorry that I did not stay and get a chance to meet you, but after 3 days of Zinfandel tasting, I was enjoying some Vietnamese Pho and a Hanoi beer in the city.
Hopefully we will get to meet. There's always Dark & Delicious, the Petite Sirah and food tasting in Alameda on Friday, February 19.
I love Pho! Specially on rainy days like today. I will definitely give you a holler if I make it out to D&D. Have a great weekend!
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