Zinfandel (the red varietal, that is) is a perfect wine to enjoy during the Fall season. Actually, I picked up four different bottles during my last visit to the wine store (not sure The Party Source qualifies for a wine store, but humor me).
The first two bottles were quite enjoyable. St. Francis was a new taste for us. While we’d had their Cabernet Sauvignon, we’d never had their Zinfandel. My wife was a bit more impressed with the wine than I, but it was a good wine nonetheless. It certainly had a fruity bite indicative of good Zinfandels.
The second bottle, which we enjoyed last night with a frozen pizza, was Cline. Cline, along with Rancho Zabaco, are two wineries you can’t go wrong with when it comes to Zinfandel. They are both a solid wine rating of 8.5-9 (this translates to 85-90 points on the “wine snob” scale). And both are under $10.
My wife & I had the luxury of visiting the Cline winery when we were out in Sonoma back in 2002. I’d highly recommend a visit if you find yourself in the area- the winery is laid back, offered several free wine samples, and was staffed with some cool, old guys. A nice refreshment from some of the stuffy wineries in Napa & Sonoma.
There was another winery, known for it’s Zinfandel, we visited on that trip- Ravenswood. While we enjoy the wine they produce, their winery was another matter. We found their customer service to be quite poor- we couldn’t get any of their staff to give us the time of day. In fact, I was so upset I actually went the length of writing the owner of the winery (which takes a lot for me since I’m not one who traditionally likes to “rock the boat”). While he responded to my email, he only offered an apology & an appreciation for trying their winery again if I were to come back to Sonoma for a visit. Fat chance.
Be on the lookout for future write-ups on Zinfandel as we taste the two remaining bottles in our “cellar”.
For those who have plans or are planning a visit to Sonoma, here’s a nice map of the top vineyards in the area:
http://www.winecountrygetaways.com/sonoma_map.html
Bottoms up!
