Once again, it’s time to plead the case for zinfandel — not the sweetish pink stuff called white zinfandel — but the red wine made with the zinfandel grape. It’s made almost exclusively in California, and it’s made as well there as the French make Burgundy and the people in Napa make cabernet sauvignon.
Red zins sometimes get a bad rap, in part because of the confusion with white zinfandel and in part because of wine snobbery, which says only classic French varietals make great wine. But — and I’ll go to my grave insisting on this — zinfandel is the classic American wine, our version of Australian shiraz. There are quality producers at every price, it’s tremendously food friendly (everything from barbecues to smelly cheese, and even white meat dishes like roast chicken), and it tastes good, if a bit manly. Zinfandel has a lot of mostly dark berry fruit, some spiciness, and even a touch of brambliness, which is kind of like a blackberry before you sweeten it in a cobbler.
So the next time you’re thinking merlot or shiraz, think zinfandel instead:
• Jewel Collection Old Vine Zinfandel 2003 ($10). Jewel is putting together a nice line of $10 wines, and this is one reason why. Typical zinfandel flavors and deep color, but a little less heavy than many of its cousins.
• Rosenblum San Francisco Bay Zinfandel 2004 ($17). Rosenblum and Ridge are probably the two best zinfandel producers, and this is a classic example. Dark fruit aromas, solid fruit throughout, and a little chocolate in the finish.
• Ridge Three Valleys 2003 ($20). This is a steal, even at $20. It’s mostly zinfandel from Sonoma, and if it were cabernet at this price, the wine magazines would be slobbering all over themselves. Since they aren’t, you can enjoy it.
