Opolo, Summit Creek Zinfandel, 2011, Paso Robles, California

This Paso Robles Zin is deep deep red bordering on purple in the glass.  The nose is a crazy concoction of spice, heat, rosewater, graphite, and dark juicy berries.  The dark berry comes through on the initial taste as well but is wrapped up in a layer of sugar- coated tingly acidity.  This is a medium bodied effort with jalapeno pepper heat on the finish.  This wine is a little too sweet for me and relies too much on the front end of the palate to make a case for itself.  

Haraszthy, Zinfandel, 2009, Amador County, California

I tasted this value-driven Zin at a fun little meet up group at Zia's Caffe on the windward side of Oahu.  Despite the extreme windy and rainy weather, the tasting was still held outside.  We had to alternate holding down the canopy to keep it from blowing across town.  Given the weather, the Haraszthy Zin seemed to outshine the whites and lighter-bodied reds that were being poured.  I found this wine fairly light in color for the varietal with a purple to red core pushing out to more translucent edges.  The nose was fairly giving with blueberry, spicy red pepper notes, as well as hints of top soil.  The flavors were dominated by light plum and concord grape.  Though coming in at a whopping 15.6% alcohol content, the wine-makers do a rather dangerously good job of containing the heat.  This is a light-bodied, stream-lined style but still is a little one note in its approach.  The short length also leaves something to be desired.  Still it's easy going and for 15 bucks delivers varietally-corrects flavors.  Pair with an Amy's pizza and the latest episode of Top Chef and you'll be sleeping well that night.       

sonoma pics

Ridge's Lytton Springs Vineyards

bad-ass old gnarly old man zin vines probably over 100 years old

good values at David Coffaro Vineyards and Ali memorabilia

ham-infused water at LaSallete

i don't remember this picture being taken

Vine Hill, Gatos Locos Zinfandel, 2006, Mokelumne River, California

This is another rad find from the folks at R. Field gourmet section of Hawaii's Foodland.  Vine Hill is a Santa Cruz based winery that went out of business sometime earlier this year.  Gatos Locos is their second label wine.  Very little information is available about the winery on the internet.  All I know is that R. Field is selling a number of their entries for at least a 50% discount.  This 2009 effort comes from the Mokelumne River AVA near the town of Lodi and I picked it up for $12 compared to the mid-twenty original cover price.  Even though this particular wine is not labeled “old vine,” farmers have been growing Zinfandel grapes in this region for the past 120 years.  The Gatos Locos has a dark opaque purple color with browning on the edges.  The nose is dominated by violets, black pepper, menthol, with an underlying milky sweetness.  Basically not much fruit on the nose.  This Zin is far from flabby but has a soft, plush Merlot-like body.  More candied grape almost big league chew flavors and plum on the profile with hits of black pepper and creamy body.  But compared to cheaper Zins, the fruit on the body avoids getting fake sweet.  Age has definitely mellowed out the tannins but the Gatos Locos does lack a bit of focus and structure.  My favorite California Zinfandels tend to have more of an overwhelming body than this while still retaining terroir-driven nuances.  Still at this price point, for a domestic Zin with this purity of fruit the Mokelumne River is hard to beat.