10/14/05 – Zinfandel (both red AND white)

By Jesse on October 14, 2005

Fellow winos,

Thanks to everyone who participated in last Monday’s spirited session concerning Cabernet Sauvignon. This coming Monday is going to be very interesting as well — based on a suggestion made this past Monday, this week’s meeting will be devoted to the comparison of Red and White Zinfandel. The two wines, although made from the same grape, are like night and day. For those who are interested, here’s a quick primer:

Zinfandel, also known as Zin, is a red-skinned wine grape popular in California for its intense fruitiness and lush texture. Typically, Zinfandel tastes of bramble and fresh or fermented red berries. Vintners use Zinfandel grapes to produce a wide range of wine styles including sweet White Zinfandels, light-bodied reds reminiscent of Beaujolais nouveau, full bodied dry reds, sweet late harvest dessert wines, and ports. Most serious wine critics consider White Zinfandel to be insipid and uninteresting, while many also consider the heavy styles to be too high in alcohol, making wines that are too “hot” and food unfriendly. In the 1990s and 2000s, however, conscientious producers have created ageworthy Zinfandels of remarkable complexity and finesse, although always with great vigour and power.

So that’s what we have to look forward to. It should be a great meeting. Like last week, it’ll be Monday at 9 PM, again at the apartment in Sherman Oaks (pretty soon we may start to diversify the meeting’s location — stay tuned). For those who haven’t been, the apartment is at (my ass!). Bring along a bottle of whichever you prefer, White or Red… both will be tasted in abundance.

See you there-

Jesse

Ed (03/08): Both were NOT “tasted in abundance.” As with the previous two meetings, it was just me, Max, Kate and Molli. Maybe Don too. Five bottles at most. Although hey… five bottles divided between five people is a good night’s drinkin’.