Zinfandel

Saturday, October 15th
4:30 - 7:00

As the October evenings start to get a touch chilly, we find out palates starting to lean back towards more robust, spicy red wines.  One of our favorites for this season is definitely Zinfandel, the most American of all noble wines.  Forget about that sweet pink stuff, this tasting will focus on the deep, spicy red wine that is unique to the warm growing regions of California.  Tracing its genetic history back to the Italian grape Primitivo, Zinfandel flourished in the vineyards of California where is was planted by Italian immigrants.  Its durability has led to some of the United States oldest vineyards being dominated by Zinfandel, and is our most common wine to be seen labeled 'Old Vines'.  As with Primitivo, there are several other international grapes genetically related to Zin, but the only production I've ever seen of this delicious grape is out of American vineyards.  This is the perfect time of year for Zinfandel, as the cooler nights are not so cold that you can still cook out on the patio, and Zin can pair up with just about anything off the grill.  While all the same grape, we feel that we've found five selections that will highlight the differences as well as similarities of each bottle.  We'll sample Zins from several different regions, showing differences in terroir; we'll have 100% Zinfandels next to iconic Zin based blends; we'll even taste a one of a kind Zinfandel that was aged in used Bourbon barrels!  We hope you can join us for this exploration of this delicious grape!


Project Paso Old Vine Zinfandel
80% Zinfandel, 20% Syrah
Paso Robles, California, 2013

Ridge 'Lytton Springs'
70% Zinfandel, 21% Petite Sirah, 6% Carignane, 3% Mataro 
Sonoma County, California, 2012

Beran Zinfandel
Sonoma County, California, 2013

Earthquake Zinfandel
Lodi, California, 2013

1000 Stories Bourbon Barrel Aged Zinfandel
California, 2014