Goodbye Summer, Hello Old Vine Zin from Sobon

Sep 25 2009

While listening to Bob Marley’s “Red, Red Wine” and drinking the Old Vine Zin, I realized that my days of sitting on the deck with a cool glass of Chardonnay were over (everyone sigh in sadness with me). I have to start drinking the more fall appropriate red wines, and this Zinfandel from Sobon Hills is a nice little transition.  Goodbye Viogniers, ciao Chardonnays, au revoir Sauv Blancs, and too-da-loo all other white wines I have re-fallen in love with this summer.  Hello spice, beautiful colors, tobacco, and dark fruit!

One of my favorite things about Zinfandels is that they are jammy, juicy and all about the fruit.  This particular Zin is interesting in the fact that the nose is a little peppery, and when you look for it, you can find a lingering hint of cinnamon, YUM!  The pepper turned me off at first, but once I closed my eyes and took a nice big gulp, I was pleasantly surprised. It has nice oak tannins, but is not overbearing.  It has dark fruit and the ones I really picked out were plum, blackberry and has a nice long finish especially for a young wine.  Another surprising factor is that it stood up well (lasted a long time) for an organic wine.  Usually with an organic wine, which has no sulphites, it goes bad in 1-2 days.  But by the end of day 2, this wine tasted just as fresh as when I first unscrewed it.  Lucky me.

Looking back on this drinking adventure, I would definitely recommend this wine to almost anyone.  A beginning wine drinker would probably like it because of its fruit forwardness and jamminess.  The Zin aficionado would appreciate how true to form it is and the everyday wine drinker would appreciate its approachability.

Lucky for me, this wine was sent to me at no cost, but retails at $13.  It is distributed through Grape Expectations (206.763.4632) and is produced from Sobon Hills in Plymouth, California.

Sobon Estate 07 Rocky Top Zinfandel: Cali Zin For The Win

Sep 10 2009

“Hey, Wendy, we have a wine we’d like you to review,” said the PalateBomb.Com Gods (Yes, didn’t you know that we get our wine from Gods?) Fair enough, I thought. “It’s from California.” Really? Really?!

Now, don’t get me wrong, I have nothing personally against California wines. Absolutely not. I watched the movie “Bottle Shock” and totally appreciated the whole eff-you French wine unsnobbery thang from the California winemakers. It was essential in establishing the United States as a serious wine producer (via the 1976 Judgment of Paris wine competition where Cali wines beat out their French counterparts in both red and white categories during a blind taste testing *insert snobby gasps here*). And, in fact, the story line reminds me a lot like the burgeoning Northwest wine industry (although now Cali-snobs seem to be at the receiving end of a one-finger salute this time around, not the French).

But I’m still touring through the Columbia, Yakima, and Willamette Valleys up here. Cali is whole different territory!

When I went to pick up the bottle, the PalateBomb.Com Gods tossed in another another challenge: Sobon Estate 07 Rocky Top Zinfandel from California’s Shenandoah Valley. Yes, Zinfandel. I have yet to find a single Zin that I love. Or like for that matter.

Fast Forward >>

So, it’s my day off, I’m sitting here watching FOX’s “House Husbands of Hollywood” (guilty pleasure and what better to pair a California wine with?). I’m yelling at the TV because sweet, adorable Danny is so freaking whipped by prudish, blonde, vapid Katherine – or is it because half…er…3/4 of the bottle of Sobon’s Zin is gone? G-o-n-e. And I’m the only one drinking.

What happened here? Well, honestly, this Zin was AMAZING to drink. Despite being a full-bodied red, it was surprisingly easy to go down. Obviously. The nose distinctively smelled of cherries, but taste-wise cocoa (almost mocha-like) dominates the palate. Singing back up is a chorus of cherries and berry subtleties. The finish is nice and lengthy.

One of the really impressive parts of this wine is that it’s made with organic grapes. According to Sobon’s web site (sobonwine.com), they’ve been farming sustainably for 20 years. Their wine contains between 15-20 parts per million free sulfates. I’m not 100% sure what this means, but it sounds good!

While I found this wine absolutely delicious, I would hesitate to recommend it to a beginning wine drinker. It’s pretty intense. An at 15.1% alcohol, this wine will leave you with a happy buzzy feeling. In fact, I’m thinking a nap sounds pretty good right about…now.

Looking for Spice? Ravenswood Zinfandel (NV)

Aug 20 2009

Summer’s over. School’s starting. Time to get excited about leaves changing, football games, school work and fuzzy sweaters. While summer asked us to drink chilled, crisp, light wines, fall requires something bolder.

What wine?

I tried a glass of Ravenswood Zinfandel (NV). The deep, dark red wine promised some level of complexity and the zinfandel did not disappoint.

The taste was of round, ripe lush fruit with hints of spice. The fullness of the fruit begged to be paired with a thick, juicy rare steak. Unfortunately, I paired it with a sushi plate of white tuna, salmon, whitefish and shrimp. For my meal, a cold, unfiltered sake would have been the better pairing.

I would prefer to pop the cork on a bottle of Ravenswood Zinfandel on a cool, crisp fall evening and enjoy it solo. With mid notes of berry and plum before a spicy finish with vanilla to balance throughout the experience, a glass of Ravenswood Zinfandel is strong enough to stand alone.

Though I enjoyed my glass of Ravenswood Zinfandel on a private patio in downtown Boulder, my poor pairing choice triggered a “wish I were in the South” moment, if only for the to-go cups.

An drank the Ravenswood Zinfandel ($7.00/glass) at Japango, on Pearl Street Mall. For taste, color, scent, experience and complexity, An gives the Ravenswood Zinfandel at Japango a 3.5 out of 5.