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Rancho Zabaco Sonoma Heritage Vines Zinfandel 2005

Monday, May 12th, 2008 | California, Sonoma, Wines Under $20, Zinfandel | No Comments

Yesterday was Mother’s Day, so the wine for dinner was my pick last night. A few weeks ago, Drew had purchased a bottle of Rancho Zabaco Sonoma Heritage Vines Zinfandel 2005 at Arlington Wine & Liquor in Poughkeepsie. I was in the mood for a Zin, but didn’t really want to open up one of our pricier bottles, so I thought it would be fun to try this wine.

The wine was a dark garnet color and had cherry and plum aromas with the scents of cedar and spice wrapping itself around the fruit. It smelled exactly like you’d expect a Zinfandel should. Upon my first taste I yelled out, “Chocolate covered cherries!” Drew thought I was grasping a little bit, but that really is the first thing that came to mind. The wine has a lot of sweet cherry flavor with a bit of chocolate on the finish. However, after another taste where I lingered a bit longer, there seemed to be a chemical taste. It’s wasn’t unpleasant, but it made me think of artificial sweetener (perhaps those were sugar-free chocolate covered cherries?) or some kind of household cleanser like Windex. The tannins were well-balanced, and considering the APV of 15%, the alcohol seemed well-integrated. It was kind of your standard, jammy Zin. For $14.99, it is a pretty decent value. However, I think I would rather pay the extra $2 or $3 more for the Dry Creek Zinfandel which has a little more pepper and seems a little more refined to me. Nevertheless, we did enjoy it.

WBW #43: Comfort Wines

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 | California, Lodi, Red Wine, Wine Blogging Wednesday, Wines Under $20, Zinfandel | 5 Comments

Joel Vincent, of Wine Life Today, is responsible for choosing this month’s topic for Wine Blogging Wednesday: Comfort Wines:

Choose a wine, any wine, that you love to unwind to and tell us about not only the wine but what makes the experience special and relaxing for you!

At first this seemed easy enough, but when it came down to actually picking one wine to write about, the task became rather daunting. There were several bottles in the running. I had to really think about what “comfort wine” means to me. I considered some of my favorite comfort foods (steak-frites; tuna salad in a pita, dunked into some chicken noodle soup; penne topped with my husband’s marinara sauce) and realized that they’re all pretty accessible foods. They’re all easy to prepare, the ingredients are readily available, and they’re not terribly expensive. Since there are just so many wines that I could pick to write about for this topic, I thought I’d apply the same criteria to wine.

The bottle I would write about had to be readily available (because there’s nothing worse than really wanting a glass of a specific wine and not being able to find it) and not terribly expensive (I decided to cap it at $15). I also wanted to pick a wine that was “quaffable” — that is, a wine that stands on its own and doesn’t really require food to be enjoyable. With that in mind I picked Ravenswood Lodi Zinfandel. It retails for around $12.99 and you can find it pretty much anywhere. I’m a big fan of Ravenswood wines, so really I’d be pleased as punch with anything from the winery, but I happen to be especially fond of the Lodi Zinfandel.

The wine is a blend of 84% Zinfandel, 14% Petite Sirah, and 2% “mixed blacks.” It is a full-bodied wine that is jammy and spicy with flavors of raspberry, plum, and vanilla. It is soft and lush as it rolls around in your mouth. The oaky finish is nice and warm and consistently puts a smile on my face. At 14.5% alcohol, it’s a big wine but I find the alcohol to be well-integrated.

No, it’s not a terribly complex wine, but when I’m thinking about “comfort” I want something that’s easy. I want to kick around in my bunny slippers and to curl up in my favorite chair. I don’t want to teeter on heels and be aware of my posture all night. I don’t want a wine that makes me work. I don’t want to decant or swirl the heck out of the glass, trying to open it up and coax out all the little nuances that make it a fantastic wine. Sometimes I just want to crack open a bottle that I know I can trust, pour it in a glass, and enjoy. I think that Ravenswood has consistently proven it can make quality “no brainer” wines. When I pick up a bottle of Ravenswood anything, I’m confident that I’m purchasing a decent product.

It’s been interesting to see what other wine bloggers consider comfort wines. I’ve noted that Sonadora of Wannabe Wino and Erika of StrumErika.com also picked Zinfandels. Once Joel has had a chance to compose his wrap-up, I’ll be sure to let you know so you can check out what everyone else chooses to help them relax.