The Wonderful World of Zinfandel

I have an apology to make to Zinfandels everywhere.  I used to think you were weak wimpy wines.  The Charles Atlas of wines we’ll say, the 97-pound skinny weakling who got sand kicked in his face.  (I know, I’m aging myself).  Then one day during our Wine Fundamentals class, this wine made a believer out of me.

It’s from the Caymus Vineyard in the Napa Valley and it’s heaven in a glass.  And at over $48 a bottle, it should be.  This is a great gift for someone.  This family has been making wines since 1972 and this Zinfandel was surprisingly full-bodied.  And I loved the long finish.

However, most of us don’t spend $48 on a Friday night wine, so I decided to be adventurous and try a different California Zinfandel.  This one just under the $20 range.

Last night I had the Pepperwood Grove Old Vine Zinfandel, and I loved it.  A big mouth-filling wine, it went perfect with the Mango Chicken I cooked last night.   This wine could fit well with pasta as well, pasta with rich cream sauces.   I liked the spicy and blackberry palate.  I have found out since that Pepperword Grove makes a couple of white wines as well as a Pinot Noir.  I am going to try the Pinot Noir, however, in reviews, it has been said that the Zinfandel was the ‘best of the bunch’.

I enjoyed this wine while I was cooking and with the meal as well.  After doing some research this wine is less expensive in some other provinces in Canada as well as the United States.  Here in Nova Scotia it was about $18, and I thought good value for the money.

Have you tried a Zinfandel that you especially liked?  I would love to hear about it.

Cheers,

Darlene