Zinfandel: Not quite sure about this stuff

Well, dear reader, I tried a few Zinfandels the other night, While they were tasty, I ended up feeling like I was drinking jam and almost didn't want to taste the last bottle. That's what Zin is known for: being "jammy". I didn't drink too much Zin before this and I'm not sure I'll drink too much more after this month. Despite that, I still think you should try! Always explore new wines and find stuff you like!

Alright, lets get started, we have a lot to cover!

From left to right, we have:

2013 Dry Creek Vineyard Zinfandel Heritage Vines ($15)

2013 Gnarly Head Zinfandel Old Vine ($9)

2012 Masseria Surani Heracles Primitivo ($14)

2013 Opolo Vineyard Summit Creek Zinfandel ($17)

Let's pause and talk about the prices. I kind went top of the budget ($15/bottle) and a little over on one. Zinfandel appears to be kinda pricey. Especially when I was looking for stuff that came from a specific region. The ones that are blends of Zin from multiple locations are lower in price and I plan to try those later this month. This may be a wine that if you want to grab one for a nice meal (or even pizza, Zin goes great with pizza!) you should to talk to the wine guy at your local store or read up on the differences of the regions to find which highlights characteristics you like.

Alright, back to the tastings - 

The Dry Creek was my most anticipated of the four, so I started with it right away. The Dry Creek area of Sonoma is KNOWN for its Zinfandel vines. On my trip to Sonoma this past spring, I tried a Zin from Valley of the Moon winery that sourced the grapes from a vineyard in Dry Creek and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to try this. Dry Creek Vineyard is also known for their great quality/price ratio wines (QPRs). 

I have to say, this was pretty great! The boyfriend did not enjoy it so much, because of the high tannins. Whoa...slow down...what the hell is a tannin? Let's do an activity! Reader, go to your kitchen and brew yourself a cup of black tea, like Lipton, and lets it steep for about 5 minutes too long. Now take a sip, that feeling in your mouth, that's tannin. It provides structure to your wine. A lot of times these wine terms need to be experienced before you can really wrap your brain around it, that's why exploring different wines is great - you figure out what people are talking about.

We made the mistake of drinking this right after opening, I should have let the bottle stand open (or decanted, but we don't have a decanter) for about an hour before trying. I didn't mind the tannins too much, but they bothered the bf a lot. 

Besides those, we got black cherry and toasted oak when smelling. Wine notes also say black berries but I didn't get those. When we tasted, there was raspberry at first which quickly switched to licorice that quickly switched to pepper at the end. Sounds bad, it wasn't. It's complex and makes you think. Apparently, allspice and Asian spices were also present, I didn't get those.

Score: 5/8 of the tasting notes. That seems about right for me. I still have a hard time picking up real fine or subtle smells and tastes.

On to the next!

The Gnarly Head was my least favorite. It was too sweet for me right out of the bottle (I tried some the next day and it had mellowed). This was literally like drinking toast and jam. The fruit flavors had that characteristic Zin "jammy" quality. This is actually a pretty simple wine, blackberries and mocha on the nose. Got the blackberries on the palate with vanilla and it finished with that toast flavor.

Why are Zins so sweet and jammy? It has to do with their alcohol content. I guess the higher the alcohol, the sweeter the Zin. I would say if you are an entry-level Zin drinker, this may be a good choice for you. The bf ended up liking this one the most.

Gnarly Head is based in Lodi, which is also a big Zinfandel area. In fact, its a very important region because the vines survived Prohibition. Lots of "old vine" Zins originate from Lodi. I know in the last post we talked about "old vine" status and the fact they are supposed to produce better Zins. I'm not so sure with this one. We shall revisit the "old vine" claim with two wines from the same winery - one regular, one old vine. 

Score: 4/5 of the tasting notes.

Number three!

The Opolo Summit Creek - this one was my favorite! The winery/vineyards are located in Paso Robles, which is located in the Central Coast area of Cali. They are supposed to produce less full bodied, less tannin-y Zins. I was a little worried, this Zin comes in at 15.5% alcohol. It could have ended up too sweet, too jammy for me. However, I really enjoyed this one!

There is the jam, but its not overly sweet. Amazing raspberry smell and flavor. The tasting notes also say strawberry, but I never really got that. I think it gets overpowered by all the rest. The tannins are definitely softer in this one. Cinnamon comes in at the very end, but its a pleasant flavor and not overwhelming. The notes also say tea leaves and maybe they are there, perhaps they work to mellow out the cinnamon.

This bottle ran us $2 over budget, but I think it might be worth it. Definitely a great bottle to take to a party. The winery also does Zins sourced from different vineyards and I found their Mountain Zin at my local, non-chain wine store. I grabbed it and I'm going to buy another bottle of this Summit Creek. At some point next year, I'll open them and compare.

Score: 3/5 of the tasting notes, not too shabby!

Finally, the Primitivo!

By the time we got around to tasting this, I was almost done with wine for the night. I was overwhelmed by the jammy flavors and, frankly, feeling the alcohol. But I persevered. 

This wine smells weird, I think it might be licorice. Its not really that fruity on the nose. Overall, its not that jammy. It reminds me of the Opolo, its not as full-bodied or filled with tannins like the Dry Creek. The fruit and spice work together instead of one following the other. I got cherry and licorice on the palate, but strawberry is supposed to be there too. I didn't get that one, though. For me, it tied with the Dry Creek. Primitivos are interesting and I think you should definitely try them!

Score: 2/3 of the tasting notes!

Thanks to the tasting, I now have 5 bottles of open wine that I'm making my way through....really my life is rough! 

So that's Zin...it's jammy, it has a lot of alcohol and it varies quite a lot depending on the region in Cali it comes from. Its not my favorite varietal, but it was fun to try new things. I think I have a good understanding of what tannins are now.  It really helped to taste them in order to understand them.