Epicuria, the Zin & Food pairing is tonight; join me!

EPICURIA, the amazing Zinfandel and food pairing tasting is tonight, Thursday, January 29 at The Golden Gate Club in the Presidio of San Francisco, 135 Fisher Loop, San Francisco, CA 94129

ZAP, Zinfandel Advocates & Producers, member tickets are just $105, and non-member tickets are just $130, and are available online through the #ZinEx website.

Here is what is on the menu tonight from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm:

Sweet Potato Timbale with a Trio of Cheeses Garnished with Alba Mushrooms & “Redemption” glaze from Flavor Bistro with Alexander Valley Vineyards Zinfandel

Smoked Duck Breast with Caramelized Onions, Bleu Cheese, and Aged Balsamic Reduction from Stanley’s Steakhouse with Andis Wines Zinfandel

Duck Rillette with Black Mission Fig & Balsamic Jam from Estate Chef with Artezin Wines Zinfandel

Tiramisu (made with Zinfandel) and a Delicious Chocolate Pepper Cupcake with Zinfandel infused Bacon from Sonoma Cake Creations with Barefoot Cellars Zinfandel

Sea Salt Roasted Devil’s Gulch Pork Leg from the Presidio Social Club with Bella Vineyards Zinfandel

Lamb Lollipops with Veal Demi Glaze from Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse with Bonneau Wines Zinfandel

Texas Wild Boar Chili- Slow-Braised Spicy Chili with Sour Cream, Green Onion and Cheddar from Sauce with Brazin Cellars Zinfandel

Chilled Red Beet Soup, with Zinfandel Creme Fresh from Pegi Ball Catering Company with Carol Shelton Wines Zinfandel

Spicy Olive Flatbread & Fig Soppressata Flatbread from SF Local with D-cubed Cellars Zinfandel

Braised Beef Stew from Bistro Boudin with Dry Creek Vineyard Zinfandel

Duck Tacos with Mole from City College of San Francisco with Four Vines Zinfandel

Pork Tostaditas from Cindy’s Back Street Kitchen with Hendry Zinfandel

Mystery Treat from Trabocco Kitchen with Jeff Cohn Cellars Zinfandel

Baccalou Cumber Rounds & Savory Cream Cheese on Baguette from Breadfruit Tree with Jessie’s Grove Winery Zinfandel

Dark Chocolate m2 Zinfandel SF Cheesecake & Wild Huckleberry m2 Zinfandel San Francisco Cheesecake from San Francisco Cheesecake Company with m2 Wines Zinfandel

Arrabiata Penne and Braised Beef Bourguignon with Bacon and Mushrooms from Estate Chef Charles Nelson with McCay Cellars Zinfandel

Shrimp Cocktail from Swan Oyster Depot with Peachy Canyon Winery Zinfandel

Bisou Group Small Plates from Chez Papa Bistrot with R&B Cellars Zinfandel

Muleheart Farm Fresh Ham Bocadillo from Central Market with Ravenswood Winery Zinfandel

Pastrami Duck Breast from Schroeder’s with Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel

Dried Fig & Marcona Almond Chicken Salad on House Made Bread from Scolari’s Good Eats with Rock Wall Wine Company Zinfandel

House Made Chocolate Salumi with Assorted Cheese and Fruits from Kuleto’s Italian Restaurant with Rombauer Vineyards Zinfandel

House-made Cracker, with Ciccioli, Stone Ground Mustard and Pickled Onion from Longomare with Rosenblum Cellars Zinfandel

Lamb Merguez Sausage with Mango Chutney, Paprika Spiced Onions & Italian Giardiniera Peppers from Rosamunde Sausage Grill with Saddleback Cellars Zinfandel

Slow smoked St. Louis Cut Pork Ribs with a Zinfandel Preserved Cherry Glaze from Winery executive chef Peter Janiak with Seghesio Family Vineyards Zinfandel

Classic Chocolate Salad – spring mixed baby spinach medley tossed with crumble Gorgonzola sundried cranberries brownie crouton crumbs drizzled with a chocolate raspberry rice wine from A Winechef For You, LLC with St. Amant Winery Zinfandel

Fennel Olive Oil Pound Cake from Taste with Terra d’Oro Wines Zinfandel

Hanger Steak with Watercress Aioli and Red Wine Onion Jam on Housemade Potato Chip from Mustard’s Grill with Tres Sabores Zinfandel

Savory Sicilian Cannoli with Wild Boar-Mascarpone Mousse and Marjoram & Mini Tiramisu’ of Angel Wings (fritters) and Espresso Sauce from Canneti Roadhouse Italiana with Three Wine Company Zinfandel

Rolled Housemade Bresaola and Arugula with Lemon Aioli and Parmigiano, Crostini with Housemade Mozzarella, Olive Tapenade & Roasted Tomatoes & Crostini with Housemade Sausage, Caramelized Onions & Roasted Peppers from Winery Executive Chef with V. Sattui Winery Zinfandel

Roasted Beet Salad with Grains and Herbs from Chef Tyler Stone with XYZin Wines Zinfandel

 

A New Zin Tradition

John On Wine – A New Zin Tradition

Originally published in the Ukiah Daily Journal on Thursday, August 28, 2014

John Cesano of John On Wine

On a sunny Saturday in August, I spent some time in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley at the ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates & Producers) Simply Summer Celebration, an inaugural event billed as “a new Zin tradition.”

A large white tent was set up in the center of Ridge Vineyards’ Lytton West Vineyard and over 125 Zinfandels were poured by the 50 wineries set up underneath the canopy, with Petaluma’s Pizza Politana set up just outside the tent and serving wood-fired artisan pizzas and a mixed green salad for the over 400 assembled wine lovers that day.

I love Zinfandel, but it can be a pretty big varietal, often tending toward high alcohol and massive dense fruit jam bomb flavors. On a hot day, outside, with plenty of sun, surrounded by other tasters, I was pleased to be writing for the Ukiah Daily Journal, as I could focus on the few wines made from Mendocino grapes and sensibly limit my tastes.

First up, I tasted the wine that won the John Parducci Best of Show Red Wine award at the recent 2014 Mendocino County Fair Wine Competition, the 2012 Artezin Wines Zinfandel, Mendocino, $17. Pouring it was winemaker Randle Johnson.

Artezin is a Napa winery, part of The Hess Collection, and the grapes for this top medal winning Zinfandel come from all over inland Mendo, including from Laviletta Vineyard on Mill Creek Road in Talmage, Seebass Family Vineyard and Paul Dolan’s Dark Horse Ranch on Old River Road near Talmage, Brown Vineyard in Redwood Valley, and Eddie Graziano’s Rovera Ranch near Calpella, among several others.

The wine was lush, showing clear berry, cherry, spice and herb notes up front, leading to red and purple fruit, including pluots. There is a lot happening in this wine, well integrated, marked by balance and finesse. 14.5% alcohol but doesn’t drink hot, feels like 13.9%.

Randle asked about the Mendocino Wine Competition, and if his award meant that the judges chose it above the best Cabernet Sauvignon, best Syrah, best Petite Sirah, best Carignane, over the best of all of Mendocino County’s red wine varieties, and not just above all of Mendocino County’s Zinfandels – which would be an impressive feat by itself. I told Randle that, yes, his Zinfandel was chosen best of all red wines entered into competition. Randle responded, “this award means more to me than a 95 in Wine Spectator.”

Josh Wagner, an employee at one of Kendall Jackson’s other wine concerns, poured three wines for Edmeades of Philo, between Boonville and Navarro, in Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley. I tasted a 2012 Edmeades Zinfandel, Mendocino, $21, a blend of Zin, Petite Sirah, and Syrah, a decent weight wine at 14.7% alc but a little soft in the mouth, without discernable oomph. Next, Josh poured the 2012 Edmeades Zinfandel, Perli Vineyard, $31, a Zin, Merlot & Syrah blend, that tasted like a walk through the black pepper forest, with oak, anise, and plummy meaty raspberry. Finally, I tasted the 100% Zinfandel offering from Edmeades, a 2011 Shamrock Vineyard, with fruit taken at 2,800 feet in elevation. Lighter mouth feel than the Perli, but not dismissible at all. Plenty of flavors, and a wine that begs to be paired with food, where herbs and fruit would pop.

Carol Shelton poured her eponymous wines, and I tasted her 2012 Carol Shelton Wines Wild Thing Old Vines Zinfandel, Mendocino, $19. Carol’s Zinfandel showed brambly bright raspberry and darker blackberry, with herb and black pepper. I worked with Carol from 1993 to 2001, and have an affinity for her wines. Not too big at 14.5%, but certainly not too light. This would be a Goldilocks’ choice wine. 83% Zinfandel , 15% Carignane , and 2% Petite Sirah; the 92% of grapes coming from Mendocino County are from the Cox Vineyard, just north of Ukiah.

Not Mendocino County, but close, I tasted a wine from Chacewater Wine from over in neighboring Lake County’s Kelseyville. The 2012 Chacewater Zin, Sierra Foothills, $20, ran 14.5% alc and had dusty rhubarb, cherry, and oak notes throughout.

Bonus non-Mendo Zinfandel tastes: I tasted the 2012 Barefoot Cellars Zinfandel, Lodi, $7, because winemaker Jennifer Wall had done such a good job with social media marketing, inviting those who ZAP indicated would be attending to come and taste her wines. The Barefoot Zinfandel had smoky, woody, darker color and flavors without being heavy, with a dominant dark strawberry jam note.

Beltane Ranch winemaker Kevin Holt poured their inaugural 2012 Beltane Ranch Estate Zin, $44. I visited Beltane Ranch in the Sonoma Valley’s Glen Ellen with my friend Serena Alexi earlier this year. A blend of Zin, Alicante Bouschet, Carignane and Petite Sirah, the wine drank young, with intense flavors of black raspberry jam, herb, and oak supporting the fruit in this 15.5% Alc wine.

I tasted the 2012 Ridge Lytton Springs, as a good guest should always taste the host’s wine. At just 70% Zinfandel with 21% Petite Sirah, 6% Carignane, and 3% Mourvedre, this wine is technically not a Zinfandel, although it is sufficiently Zinny to me and, if grown and made one county north, could be called a Coro. 14.4% in alc and loaded with flavor, plenty of brambly ripe berry and a little firm. This is a wine that can lie down and improve with cellaring.

I recognized plenty of other wine writers, and saw that some of my favorite other Zinfandel producers were pouring, but as the attendance grew to over 400, counting winemakers, I decided to call it a day, and headed home to relax in an air conditioned room. That night, I baked spicy chicken wings and paired them with the 2012 Artezin Zinfandel, the Mendo Best of Show red, and that pairing may have best defined a simply summer celebration and new Zin tradition, as it was perfect.

Here’s a link to the Zin friendly baked chicken wing recipe.

 

White Zinfandel, separating ass from class since 1975.

White Zinfandel is the gateway wine for many wine drinkers, an introduction to wine through the light, pink, and delicious accident of winemaking often leads people to try the harder stuff; Gewurtztraminer, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, that other Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

In a future article, I’ll talk about that path to the hard stuff, to Cabernet Sauvignon, but today is all about White Zinfandel.

Zinfandel is a red grape and is used to make the red wine Zinfandel. Squeezing almost any red grape, including the Zinfandel grape produces a clear juice. It is by putting the skins back in contact with the juice during fermentation, sometimes aided by punching the skins down into the juice or pumping the juice over the skins, that the color from the skins is imparted to the juice. This is, in short, how red wine becomes red.

Although there is some evidence that Zinfandel may have been made into a White Zinfandel as early as 1869 in Lodi, CA; Sutter Home Winery in the  Napa Valley is generally credited with making the White Zinfandel you are familiar with in the 1970’s, quite by accident.

Sutter Home had already been making a clear juice white wine from Zinfandel grapes, fermented to dryness in the early 1970’s, which tasted nothing like what you are familiar with today, but was called white Zinfandel.

Alcohol occurs during the fermentation of grape juice into wine when yeasts consume and convert sugar into carbon dioxide and alcohol.

In 1975, Sutter Home has some Zinfandel juice experience a stuck fermentation, where the yeast just stopped consuming sugar. The result was considered to be defective, sweeter and lower in alcohol than desired. The odd wine was put aside for possible blending into other wines later. Before blending, a winemaker tasted the sweet, lower alcohol, pink wine and liked the taste. Thus was born the White Zinfandel everyone is familiar with today.

Sutter Home Winery is the creator of White Zinfandel…by accident.

Now wineries can stop the fermentation cold, literally; freezing the outside of the tank can stop the fermentation process inside the tank. White Zinfandels can be made with very high sugar and low alcohol or very low sugar and high alcohol, or any point in between.

I drink Zinfandel, the original red wine. I do not drink White Zinfandel with much frequency. The reason I drink Zinfandel instead of White Zinfandel is a matter of preference. I prefer all dry red wines to all sweet white and rosé wines. But I do drink sweet white, rosé and White Zinfandel on occasion – often because they are the perfect wine for a pairing.

I found a video with a wine knowledgeable gal spouting some of the most foolishly snobby declarations; she actually spent time to create a video dedicated to putting down White Zinfandel and people who enjoy White Zinfandel. I am saddened to say that she is not alone in her superior attitude. I have written before of my disappointment with the job the wine industry does marketing its product and with the wine writers writing for each other, out snobbing each other, instead of writing for regular folks – there are in fact some very good, unpretentious wine writers out there, but too few make it to print in my opinion.

Snobby wine gal video: http://www.ehow.com/video_2290320_why-avoid-drinking-white-zinfandel.html

Sutter Home claims that 1 in every 10 wine bottles opened in America, a full 10%, is White Zinfandel. Many of the most expensive Champagnes in France are a rosé bubbly. I find the wine snob attitude, a tendency to look down on “lDanesser” wines and the people who enjoy them, is usually from people who think they know wine – but don’t.

People new to wine appreciate the accessibility of White Zinfandel, it is easily enjoyed. People who have been around the industry a long time appreciate that many people would not come to wine at all if it weren’t for White Zinfandel; and take away 1 in 10 wine bottles being opened in America, and you’ll see layoffs in the industry.

It is only the pseudo connoisseur that rushes to judge an entire segment of wine “inferior”. Typical of those who do not have true knowledge or ability, they put something down thinking it builds them up. Neither new to wine, or genuinely wine knowledgeable, these people are asses, plain and simple. Let them sit at home alone fondling their Dana Estates’ 2007 Lotus Vineyard Cab in the dark.

Show me a party with White Zinfandel and I’ll show you a party with some fun people, a party likely to be more animated than a serious consideration of flights from top producers of Pinot Noir. I’m not knocking Pinot Noir, I dearly love it; I’m just saying White Zinfandel is fun. and fun is often too lacking in wine.

White Zinfandel, like any other wine, changes winery to winery, appellation to appellation, and vintage to vintage. Winemaking choices play an even greater role in creating variation between labels. The color varies from a pale golden blush to an orange sunset, from a salmon color, to pink and even a darker purpley pink. White Zinfandel is most often sweet, but again there is variety, with bottles ranging from rather dry to very sweet.

When I worked for Windsor Vineyards, our winemaker Carol Shelton made a White Zinfandel out of 100% Zinfandel grapes, even though she could used just 75% Zinfandel and blended in a much less expensive grape, and still, by law, called it a White Zinfandel. DeLoach Vineyards also made a 100% Zinfandel White Zinfandel at the time. For some wineries, making a quality wine is more important than making an inexpensive wine. Carol Shelton is America’s most awarded winemaker and has been named Winemaker ofthe year on more than one occasion. Carol, who made great white Zinfandel, and an exciting Provence styled rosé, is the epitome of class.

I always enjoyed a crushed strawberries over ice quality when tasting Carol Shelton made Windsor Vineyards White Zinfandel. Other notes you may find when sipping a White Zinfandel include raspberry, cherry, blackberry, and citrus. Lighter in style, this wine pairs well with many of the lighter dishes of summer.

White Zinfandel is the name of one rose or blush wine made from Zinfandel grapes, but the same process of creating a white or rosé wine from red wine grapes can be used to create White Merlot, White Cabernet, White Pinot Noir, or any other white red wine varietal wine.

Put simply, White Zinfandel (and other rosé or blush wine made from red wine grapes) is often the perfect summer sipper, whether at a picnic, a party, or at the table.

Last year, a friend wanted to come out to Sonoma County and spend a week tasting wines together. She does not drink dry red wines and would not have enjoyed a vacation built around tasting Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel. She does not drink white wines, so Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc was out. She does enjoy the occasional glass of Beringer White Zinfandel, so I built a vacation throughout the north coast around tasting award winning blush and rosé wines.

White Zinfandel presents many different flavors because there are so many different ways to make a White Zinfandel; blending choices, sweetness levels, and more make for an infinite number of different White Zinfandels. I could suggest pairings, White Zinfandel with Hawaiian pizza, White Zinfandel with pork salad; but the best thing to pair White Zinfandel with is some unpretentious friends.

I would rather drink White Zinfandel from a jelly jar with fun friends with class, than the Lotus Vineyard Cabernet from Riedel stemware with an ass. Just sayin’.

I have not tasted a White Zinfandel, or other blush wine, in too long. In place of personal recommendations, here is a list, by no means complete, of award winning north coast White Zinfandel and other blush or rosé wines:

Adobe Road Winery – www.adoberoadwines.com -2008 Rose, Sonoma Valley $18

Alexander Valley Vineyards – www.avvwine.com – 2008 Rosé of Sangiovese, Wetzel Family Series, Alexander Valley $12.

Balletto Vineyards – www.ballettovineyards.com – 2008 Rosé of Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley $16.

Barefoot Cellars – www.barefootwines.com – NV White Zinfandel, California $7

Beringer – www.beringer.com –  2008 White Zinfandel,California Collection, California $6

Black Stallion Winery – www.blackstallionwinery.com – 2008 Rose, Napa Valley $22

Bonny Doon Vineyard – www.bonnydoonvineyard.com – 2008 Vin Gris de Cigare, California $15.

Bonterra Vineyards – www.bonterra.com – 2008 Rosé, Organic Grapes, Mendocino County $14.

Buena Vista Carneros – www.buenavistacarneros.com – 2008 Rosé of Syrah, Carneros $25.

Charles Creek Vineyard – www.charlescreek.com – 2008 Rose, Napa Valley $16

Dacalier Wine Co. – www.dacalier.com – 2008 Grenache/Carignan, Premier Rose, Lake County $16

Fichtenberg Vineyards – www.fichtenbergvineyards.com – 2008 Pinot Noir Saignee, Carneros $18

Fleur de California – www.fleurdecalifornia.com – 2008 Pinot Noir Rosé, Vin Gris of Pinot Noir, North Coast $13

Folie a Deux – www.folieadeux.com– 2008 Menage a Trois Rose California $12

Forest Glen Winery – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronco_Wine_Company -2007 Shiraz Rose, Magenta Rose, California $9; 2008 White Merlot, Forest Fire, California $9

Gregory Graham – www.ggwines.com – 2008 Estate Rose, Crimson Hill, Red Hills, Lake County $12

D.H. Gustafson Family Vineyards – www.gfvineyard.com – 2008 Rosé of Syrah, Dry Creek Mountain Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley $20

Heitz Wine Cellars – www.heitzcellar.com – 2008 Rosé, Grignolino, Napa Valley $19

Kelley & Young Wines – www.kelleyyoungwines.com – 2008 Kathleen Rose, Alexander Valley, Robert Young Vineyard $24

Kendall-Jackson Winery – www.kj.com – 2008 Malbec Rose, Grand Reserve, Napa Valley $18

Kenwood Vineyards –  www.kenwoodvineyards.com – 2008 Pinot Noir Rose, Russian River Valley $14

McDowell Valley Vineyards – www.mcdowellsyrah.com – 2008 Grenache Rose, McDowell Valley $15

Navarro Vineyards – www.navarrovineyards.com – 2008 Rose, Mendocino County $15

Pedoncelli Winery – www.pedroncelli.com – 2008 Dry Rose of Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley $10

Round Hill – www.roundhillwines.com – 2008 White Zinfandel, California $5

Rutherford Hill – www.rutherfordhill.com – 2008 Rose, Napa Valley $20

V. Sattui Winery – www.vsattui.com – 2008 Rosato, North Coast $16; 2008 Gamay Rouge, California $18

Shannon Ridge Winery – www.shannonridge.com – 2008 Wrangler Rose, Ranch Collection, Lake County $16

Sol Rouge – www.solrouge.com – 2008 Rose, Lake County $18

Sutter Home Winery – www.sutterhome.com – 2007 White Zinfandel, The Original, California $4; 2008 White Zinfandel, The Original, California $4; 2008 White Merlot, California $5

Titus Lombardi – www.titusvineyrds.com – 2008 Rose of Syrah, Mendocino $13

Toad Hollow Vineyards – www.toadhollow.com – 2008 Pinot Rose, Eye of the Toad, Sonoma Coast $9

Valley of the Moon Winery – www.valleyofthemoonwinery.com – 2007 Rosato di Sangiovese, Sonoma County $14; 2008 Rosato di Sangiovese, Sonoma County $14

Waterstone Winery – www.waterstonewines.com – 2008 Rose of Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley $12