Decanterberry Tales - A Willamette Valley Wine Blog - zinfandel tag

ZAP: Zinfandels invade Pinot country

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:50:13 GMT

A bunch of Zinfandel producers will be in town on the 29th of July — 40 of them — for a tasting event that should be interesting — assuming you're near Portland. Zinfandel Advocates & Producers will be in Portland on Wednesday, July 29, 6:00 - 8:30 p.m., World Trade Center Plaza (121 SW Salmon Street). They've teamed up with the Oregon Culinary Institute and Portland Uncorked to bring an army of Zinfandels for you to taste, including:

Accademia dei Racemi
Alexander Valley Vineyards
Artezin Wines
Bonterra Vineyards
Four Vines Winery
Hendry
J. Rickards Winery & Vineyards
Mauritson Family Winery
Opolo Vineyards
Peachy Canyon Winery
Pezzi King Vineyards
Ravenswood
Ridge Vineyards
Robert Biale Vineyards
Sanctuary
Sebastiani Vineyards
Starry Night Winery
Steele Wines
Storrs Winery & Vineyards
Wine Guerrilla

From the press release:

"Tasters will taste a rainbow of Zinfandels, from growing regions
all over California," explains ZAP's Executive Director, Rebecca
Robinson. "A friendly touch we specialize in at these tastings is
that the attendees will meet the winemakers and winery owners, thus
insuring that their questions will be answered from the 'horse's
mouth,'" she adds. "In both of these cities it will be an
opportunity to learn why Zinfandel attracts such a great following---
people will be able to taste award-winning Zinfandels, mingle with
winemakers and winery owners, learn about the richness & versatility
of Zinfandel, discover why Zinfandel is called America's Heritage
Wine and sample incredible BBQ from culinary students," she explains.

Tickets cost $35 for ZAP members and $44 for non-members; some
tickets will be available at the door. Tickets are available in
advance at:

https://members.zinfandel.org/cgi-shl/TWServer.exe?EREG:OrderEvent:2009TOURORNON

For for members of the wine trade:

https://members.zinfandel.org/cgi-shl/TWServer.exe?EREG:OrderEvent:2009TOURORTRADE

Decanterberrytales has been given some extra tickets to this event. If you're interested in going (assuming you'll be in Portland then), email me. I'll put all the names in a hat and pick out the winners.

A Rafanelli, 'Dry Creek Valley' Sonoma, Zinfandel, 2005

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 07:15:00 GMT

Smell: Overwhelmingly pepper! Oak and orange.

Taste: Plum and black cherry.

Finish: Cherry lingers. Later, hints of bark and a very slight lime sourness.

Cost:

Rating: 8.0

Ognissole, Primitivo di Manduria, 2004

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 04:00:00 GMT

Smell: Sulfur, raisin, peat, fertilizer, bat guano.

Taste: Peat, raisin ass, bat ass, dried fruit. Like deep-fried Mars bars--sweet. Very earthy. Our description of this wine sounds terrible, but it was a very good bottle.

Finish: Very smooth, raisin.

Cost:

Rating: 6.5

Guest Critics: Andrew and Madeleine

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 03:00:00 GMT

Madeleine: Madeleine is a part-time therapist and yoga instructor. She speaks fluent French and Spanish. When not working, Madeleine enjoys knitting, "date nights" with her husband and playing with her two-year old daughter.

Andrew: Andrew works for a large corporation and frequently travels around the world on business. Ironically, unlike his wife, Andrew does not speak other languages. But to his credit, Andrew graduated with a Masters from Stanford University. When at home, Andrew enjoys time with his wife and playing with his two-year old daughter.

Dinner:

garden salad
slow-cooked carrots
lemon braised artichokes
gorgonzola crab tortellini
cheese
strawberries
chocolate

Wines:

2005 St. Innocent Pinot Noir White Rose Vineyard
2005 Stonehedge Zinfandel
Uno Barbaresco

Favorite quotes heard around the dinner table:

"I smell benzene." --Andrew
"I smell leather, whips and chains! Oh whoops, it's too early!" --Madeleine
"I'll do anything to increase my hits on Google." --Andrew