I was really looking forward to trying the Cellar No. 8 Zinfandel because of the fact that the Cellar No. 8 Cabernet Sauvignon was my top pick in my series on Cabs. I was hoping to find another great value wine here, but unfortunately this tasting leaves me searching.
At first, the nose didn’t strike me as distinctly zinfandel. It was was mostly smoky and subtle. Given a chance to open up the zin characteristics started to come through — raspberry, blackberry, cedar and pepper. The palate also didn’t strike me as a typical California Zinfandel. This is much more earthy and subtle than I expected. It is still quite fruity, but not quite what you would expect from a zin. The tonality of the flavors is what I would characterize as lower mid-range. Read the section in this post on the musicality of wine to understand what I mean by lower mid-range. There is not a lot of complexity but some blackberry, raspberry and a good bit of chocolate on the palate. There’s not much spice. The mouth feel is awesome, very silky.
I gave this wine a score of 82. While there are some enjoyable aspects to this wine but the numbers just didn’t add up to a great score. It lost some points on varietal character, lack of intensity and lack of complexity.
Wine: Cellar No. 8
Varietal: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 14.6%
Rating: 82
Price Paid: $9.99
I’ve been toying with the idea of trying out Twitter for a while and today I finally signed up. I don’t know the lingo yet, so I don’t know if it makes me a Twit, a Twitterer or a Tweeter.
My plan was to sign up, dip my toe in the water, check it out, lay low, figure out how things work, etc. before I publicized my presence. But Dr Debs saw that I had put her on follow and with one simple tweet she blew my cover. The cat is out of the bag. I tried to dip my toe in the water and Dr Debs pushed me in head first. It’s probably for the best to just go at it full throttle anyway. Hmmm, Dr Debs called me out on Twitter, maybe one day I’ll make it into her blogroll [wink, nudge].
Anyway… if you care to read my random, inane and irrelevant thoughts throughout the day you can follow me on Twitter. Thank you to all of those who already put me on follow. It’s a great welcome to Twitterville.
I was resistant to Twitter for a long time and poo pood it anytime someone suggested it, but after my first day I kind of like it. I quickly felt more connected to other wine bloggers as I followed their comments throughout the day. To be honest, I’m still trying to figure out how to fit in with the online wine community.
As I was flipping channels last night I stumbled across a program on MTV about people who are introverted in real life, but extroverted online. I generally don’t find anything of interest on MTV anymore, but this program was interesting. I was particularly intrigued by one woman who is a “rock star” in Second Life. She writes music and performs it online but she is petrified by the idea of performing in front of people in a real life setting. I think it’s great that the online world can create a “safe place” for those who are otherwise introverted to come out of their shells.
The show got me thinking a lot about online communities and my online persona. I tend to be somewhat introverted in both real life and online (although I’m not a total hermit in either place). I don’t generally socialize a lot in either real life or online. And I’m not really one to create an alternate identity online. When I first started this blog I did it rather anonymously but that didn’t really work for me. I guess being honest and independent is just part of my persona.
I know that I should be more social in all aspects of life, real world and online. This is one way to help facilitate that. So, send me a Tweet sometime.
As someone whose been an environmentalist for over 20 years (admittedly more intensely at some times than others) I’m always skeptical of a company’s environmental claims. I’m curious, but skeptical and I tend to be a rather harsh critic of environmental claims. Despite my skepticism, I am somewhat impressed with Parducci Cellars. They seem to have some street cred behind their environmental claims. But they do appear to dance around the organic issue… I’ll get to that in a minute.
Parducci Cellars claims to be the first carbon neutral winery in the US. I admit that I’m sick of hearing about “carbon footprints” so let’s see what’s behind this claim. Some of the measures they have taken include converting lighting from incandescent to fluorescent, using solar energy, using bio-diesel tractors and cars, participating in a tree planting program and purchasing carbon credits. I’m not a big fan of the idea of buying carbon credits, but the other stuff… all good.
They also use 100% post-consumer recycled paper and tree-free paper in all their packaging, brochures, stationary, etc. Plus they use chlorine-free cardboard for their case boxes and soy based inks. I’ll give them a couple street cred points for that.
But when it comes to organic, I get a little confused as I read their materials. The wine is not labeled as organic. This could be because they use sulfites in the production process. But when I read closely, the skeptic in me comes out. They claim that their “vineyards are certified for their sustainable practices” and they say that their “synthetic chemical free farming practices are certified by California Certified Organic Farmers.” Read that closely. It says that their farming practices are certified, it does not state that their vineyards are certified organic. Also, they specify that it is their “synthetic chemical free farming practices” that are certified. Do they employ other farming practices? They make lots of references to organic farming, but nowhere do they make the claim that their vineyards are 100% organic.
It’s fine with me if they are not 100% certified organic, but if that’s the case I wish that they would clearly state it. Particularly if they are are going to include mentions of organic farming in their marketing materials. Just put it out there. Give us full disclosure and let us as consumers deal with it. That said, I am appreciative of their sustainable and bio-dynamic farming practices.
In addition to the favorable environmental practices of Parducci, there are two other things that impressed me about this producer: 1) A great tasting Zinfandel and 2) An outstanding price on that great tasting Zinfandel.
Parducci Mendocino Valley Zinfandel
Visually, this wine is bright red but less opaque than you might expect. Don’t let the thin appearance fool you though, as it has good intensity and is exceptionally enjoyable for the price. It’s not overly jammy like a lot of other Zins in this price range. The nose is rather dirty, kind of a dusty cedar chest aroma with some subtle dried cherry. The palate has crisp acidity with cherry and blackberry flavors. The tannins are soft and there is a hint of black pepper but the spice is much less intense than many other Zins. The finish is quite long and brings a subtle vanilla characteristic.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed this one and I thought the $9.99 price was an outstanding value. This wine earned a solid 88 rating.
Wine: Parducci Mendocino Valley
Varietal: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 88
Price Paid: $9.99
How can we do a series on Zinfandel without tasting 7 Deadly Zins? Simply put, we can’t.
It’s a bad pun that inspired the naming of this wine. But hey… it’s fun and it’s a name you will remember. But it’s not just another bottle with a quirky name trying to entice shoppers with silly marketing, there’s a reason behind the seven in the name. The grapes that go into this wine come from seven different growers in the Lodi region. I don’t know if they picked the name and then decided to source from seven growers or vice versa, but I do know one thing… this wine is good!
You may have heard people refer to a style of Zinfandel as “Lodi Zinfandel” and this is a great example of such a style. It’s a Zinfandel that was made to go with barbecue. Big, bold and fruity with lots of spice. This is what many people love about California Zins (and what some people hate).
I Confess, I Like this Wine
OK, so now I’m getting in on the bad jokes. But it’s no joke that this is a good zin. It has a spicy nose with a bit of raspberry, tomato, pepper and cola. It’s very clearly a Lodi Zinfandel right from the first whiff. Raisins, jammy blackberry, walnut and black pepper make for a big, bold palate with plenty of complexity. It has good concentration too, and a fairly long finish with a hot spiciness.
It’s not bad for the $15 price. I gave it an 87.
Wine: 7 Deadly Zins
Varietal: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 15%
Rating: 87
Price Paid: $14.99
BIG, BOLD ZIN! That’s how Rancho Zabaco characterizes their wines. And we checked out two of the Zinfandels they produce. There’s a good chance you’ll see at least one of these Zins on the Zinfandel shelf at your local wine shop as Rancho Zabaco doesn’t do much other than Zinfandel.
They have a couple other varietals, but Zinfandel is what Rancho Zabaco is known for and it’s their Zinfandel that we shall drink! These are big and bold. They good examples of what you would expect from a California Zinfandel.
Dancing Bull
This is a very quaffable wine, although not as complex as I would like in a zin. The nose is pure cherry cola. Surprisingly, I kind of liked that about it. The palate is just shy of being a fruit bomb. It has very jammy blackberry and cherry flavors. The tannins are soft—it could stand to be a touch more tannic. There is a hint of black pepper in the finish, given it a bit of spice but I wouldn’t characterize this as a spicy Zinfandel. Overall this is an enjoyable bottle of wine for the price.
Wine: Rancho Zabaco Dancing Bull
Varietal: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 13.9%
Rating: 84
Price Paid: $8.99
Sonoma Heritage Vines Zinfandel
As they say, this is BIG. With a whopping 15% alcohol level, this one is rather intense.
There is an enjoyable smokey nose on this one with cherry, blackberry, walnut and spice. The palate is quite tannic and fruity. It’s somewhat jammy with blackberry and cherry flavors. It’s much more fruity than spicy, but it’s not too sweet. The finish is full of walnut with berries and a hint of chocolate. It’s a decent zin, but it’s nothing extraordinary.
It has a bit more complexity than the Dancing Bull, but it’s not significantly better. Given the choice, I’d prefer to save a few bucks and go with the Dancing Bull.
Wine: Rancho Zabaco Sonoma Heritage Vines
Varietal: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 15%
Rating: 86
Price Paid: $11.99
Cardinal Zin is the epitome of a Zin with a fun name and a fun label. In fact it’s so much fun that in 2001 it was banned in Ohio!
OK, it wasn’t banned for being too much fun specifically. It was banned because Ohio’s state code on wine labeling forbids “advertisement or representation portraying pictures of… children [or] religious subjects.”
The label on this wine was designed by artist Ralph Steadman and it depicts a Cardinal.
Really??? Is this a reason to ban a wine? That is crazy! Clearly, 2001 was a slow year for the Ohio State Liquor Regulator. Although it was banned back in 2001, I have seen it on shelves in Ohio recently. Either the state regulators came to their senses or there are some rogue distributors ignoring this ban. Shhhhhh.
Personally, the fact that it was banned makes me want to buy wine. I am a staunch opponent of censorship and will often buy things just because they were banned. And if I knew who was responsible for the ban I would litter his or her yard with my empty bottles. I don’t know what good that would do, but for some reason the thought of it makes me feel good.
Anyway, I’m rambling with my fantasies of minor vandalism. Is that even vandalism? I think I’m actually fantasizing about littering. Enough of this… on to the tasting.
In addition to having a fun and controversial label, this wine is quite good.
The Musicality of Cardinal Zin
This is a nice zinfandel with bright, high-pitched aromas. I tend to organize scents in my mind similar to different sounds. Some scents are high-pitched and some are thumping bass notes. A full cabernet sauvignon often has a lot of bass, but this zinfandel is full of high notes and upper mid-range.
Another analogy to put this into context is public restrooms. I know it’s a gross analogy, but stay with me and this will all make sense. We’ve all been in public restrooms where they have an air freshener, but it doesn’t seem to cover up the funk. That’s because the scents from the air freshener are at the wrong frequency. The funk in the restroom is typically a deep bass but the air freshener has a high-pitched tonality. It’s like trying to drown out a woofer with a tweeter… it just doesn’t work.
So the aromas in this wine are a mostly high-pitched and mid-range. Not a lot of bass. This gives it a fresh and spicy character which is music to my tongue. There are aromas of raspberry, strawberry, briar and violet… perhaps a touch of tarragon. The aromas are intense but none of them are dominant, it’s very well balanced. The smell makes me want to eat pasta with loads of garlic and basil. I love pesto.
The palate is full of fruit and spice. More of the raspberry & strawberry that was in the nose. Plus a bit of wet rock, leather and pepper. The finish is exceptionally long with soft tannins. This is an outstanding wine for $15.99 and it earned a solid 90 rating. I highly recommend it.
Wine: Cardinal Zin
Varietal: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 14%
Rating: 90
Price Paid: $15.99
Twist the top off this and celebrate a cork-free bargain. Twisted Wines are a brand of wine that jumps out at you on the wine shelves. The marketing guy in me loves this brand. They have good packaging with a fun attitude, eye-popping shelf talkers and a well-designed website. And the brand is not all marketing fluff, they are producing some decent wines at great prices too.
While I sound really excited about Twisted Zin, that’s really driven a lot by the price. This is a great wine for only $6.99. But it’s not going to be my top Zinfandel pick for under $20.
The nose on the Twisted Zin is cherry cola, raspberry and herbs. It’s not really elegant, but it’s fun and enjoyable. The palate is full of jammy red fruit and a touch of black pepper. It’s not as spicy as a lot of other zinfandels and I would have liked a bit more kick, but it’s still quite enjoyable. I was also surprised by the high alcohol level from a zin at this price (14.5%).
I gave this wine an 85. Wine Enthusiast gave it an 84 back in November 2007 and labeled it a “Best Buy.” I’d have to say that I agree.
Wine: Twisted Zin
Varietal: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 85
Price Paid: $6.99
It’s time once again for Wine Blogging Wednesday and the host this month is Tim at Winecast. For those stumbling upon this who don’t know what Wine Blogging Wednesday is, it’s a monthly event when wine bloggers from around the globe all write about a common topic. The theme this month, for WBW #45, is Old World Riesling.
With Old World Riesling as the theme, you can check out about 50 other wine blogs today and discover a wide breadth of European Rieslings. Some reviewers will feature sweet Rieslings and others, like me, will highlight the dry ones.
Remember that syrupy-sweet stuff you were served the last time you had Riesling (the time when you declared that you don’t like Riesling because it’s too sweet), forget about that. Dry Riesling is delightful and is typically dominated with mineral and citrus flavors. Some of the German ones may also have a petroleum characteristic to them.
The Riesling I chose to review is Kuentz-Bas Tradition from the Alsace region on the eastern border of France. This is a region well known for its white wines, Gewürztraminer and Riesling in particular. Kuentz-Bas has been producing wines in this region since 1795, so I guess you could say they have a bit of experience.
Kuentz-Bas Tradition 2005
I am pleasantly surprised by the intensity of the nose of this wine. It’s not overbearing, but it’s more intense than I expected. Honeydew melon and floral notes are the dominant aromas, but there is also a bit of mineral smell like the wet rocks from a crisp, clean mountain stream. That mineral aspect dominates the palate. It is like pulling one of those rocks from the stream and sucking on it. Picture one of those well-worn, rounded, granite-based rocks. There is also a good amount of lime flavor mid-palate with a crisp acidity. The finish brings a subtle pineapple flavor to the tongue. It’s a long finish too—I can walk away from this for a few minutes and I’m still enjoying the aftertaste.
This is a great example of a dry, old world Riesling at a decent price, $14.99. If you’re someone who has always avoided Riesling because you think it’s too sweet, I suggest you give this one a try.
Wine: Kuentz-Bas Tradition
Varietal: Riesling
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 89
Price Paid: $14.99
The Sierra Foothills designation of Renwood Zinfandel, also know as “red label,” is the entry-level Zinfandel from Renwood Winery. They have some more pricey Zins available, but they are mostly out of the range for Cheap Wine Ratings. The red label wines from Renwood are produced from their younger vines and are much simpler than their high-end wines, which are well known, award winning wines. But this red label Zin was actually a decent wine for the price.
This is a fairly simple zinfandel, with cherry and pepper on the nose. The palate is dominated by sour cherry with blackberry and tar underneath it. It’s well balanced and enjoyable, but it’s not extraordinary. It’s not as jammy as a lot of other zins, so if you want less jam this may be a pick for you.
Wine: Renwood
Varietal: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 85
Price Paid: $11.99
The next series we’re doing on Cheap Wine Ratings is California Zinfandel. At times Zinfandel is one of my favorite varietals but sometimes it ends up just way too sweet and jammy. Zinfandel is really a chameleon though, as its wine can have a variety of characteristics from jar-full-of-jam fruit, to spicy, to tannic, and the list goes on. Style aside, we’re going to review a variety of California Zins to try to find the best picks under $20 no matter which style you prefer. (Unless your style is White Zinfandel, you won’t find those reviews in this series.)
Zinfandel grapes are generally very high in sugar levels which enable them to produce high alcohol wines, some 15% and higher. In the under $20 price range there are only a few that you’ll find at 15% alcohol and most of what we’ll feature is in the 14-14.5% range. This is still a fairly high alcohol level which means these are mostly big and bold wines.
Another thing that you’ll notice about Zinfandel wines is that producers like to have a lot of fun with the names. I guess the rhyme with “sin” is too much for marketing teams to resist. You’ll find names like Cardinal Zin, 7 Deadly Zins, Twisted Zin, Sin Zin, and others.
You’ll also find a number of California Zinfandel producers who sell two-three labels of Zin at different price points. We’ll be featuring a few posts where we review multiple Zin labels from the same producer.
The first review in this series features both fun names and multiple labels from one producer. Alexander Valley Vineyards has a lot of fun with their Zinfandel and you’ll probably notice these ones on the shelves. They sell two that are under $20 but we also decided to go a few dollars higher to see how their third-level Zin compares at $25.
I was pleased to find a definite improvement in quality at each higher price point.
Temptation Zinfandel
Cherry cola and bramble nose with a hint of walnut. Cherry, raspberry and tomato on the palate. A bit thin for a zinfandel. The finish is quick and a touch bitter. The yeast is very noticable in the finish of this one, which is a little weird and unpleasant.
Wine: Temptation
Varietal: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 81
Price Paid: $12.99
Sin Zin
Moderately better than “Temptation,” but similar in flavor profile. Cherry, vanilla, smoke and bramble on the nose. Cherry, raspberry, cola and spice on the palate. Definitely a bit more spicy than Temptation and a longer, more enjoyable finish. This is a nice contrast to a lot of the jammy fruit Zins that you’ll find in this price range. It’s a bit more complex and exciting.
Wine: Sin Zin
Varietal: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 85
Price Paid: $16.99
Redemption Zin
This is an elegant and exciting zinfandel. The nose shows quite a bit of raspberry backed up by herbal and earthy aromas. The palate is a nice spicy raspberry with a touch of cherry cola and walnut. The finish is very long and spicy, but the spiciness isn’t as intense as the Sin Zin. This is all around an excellent Zinfandel. I just wish the price was a bit lower.
Wine: Redemption Zin
Varietal: Zinfandel
Vintage: 2005
Alcohol: 14.8%
Rating: 90
Price Paid: $24.99
Prev