Caymus - Our Favorite Zinfandel This Year?

While Caymus Vineyards is a winery known for its excellent (and expensive) Cabernet Sauvignons, they also make a terrific Zinfandel. We tried the 2007 Napa Valley Zinfandel at the winery last year and were impressed enough that we bought a couple of bottles. We opened bottle #1 last Saturday night and the verdict is in: it might just be our favorite Zinfandel that we've enjoyed this year!

First, let's talk about the wine and then we'll make some comparisons.

The nose smelled like an old wine barrel, just inviting you to breathe deeply and take it all in. Zinfandel tends to have a flavor spectrum that runs from peppery to jammy, and this one was definitely peppery with rich black currant flavors and a silky smooth finish. We both agreed this wine earned the vaunted "PFG" designation.

OK, now the comparisons.

We've had some outstanding Zinfandels from Ridge this year. Our favorite was a 2009 Ridge Ponzo Vineyard, which was on the other end of the pepper-to-jammy spectrum. (See "You can't go wrong with a Ridge") We also enjoyed a bottle of 2009 Robert Biale Black Chicken. Biale's wine is always amazing and the 2009 was a stellar year for them. 

All good stuff, but somehow the Caymus was our favorite.

Of course, it may have been the recency effect, where you tend to best remember the latest wine you've tried. Fortunately, we have another bottle of the Caymus, another bottle of the Ridge Ponzo Vineyard, and a bottle of 2010 Cuvaison Bald Mountain Zinfandel that will be a nice stand-in for the Biale. Dinner party, anyone?

Wine Pairings for Your Memorial Day BBQ

As the somewhat official start to summer, it’s pretty much a requirement to fire up the BBQ on Memorial Day.  Truth be told, a nice cold beer (especially Shiner!) is my usual go-to beverage to enjoy with meat fresh off the grill.  However, a tasty wine also puts a smile on my face.  Whether you like your meat simply smoked, or with sauce, you can’t go wrong pairing an Australian Shiraz or a California Zinfandel with any kind of BBQ.  

Here are a couple of readily available wines under $20 you may want pick up for your BBQ ~

Layer Cake Shiraz (~$12)
Bold spice, black plums and dark chocolate, with a long creamy finish that hangs around in the mouth for a while.  It would hold up to the spiciest sauces around!

Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz (~10)
Full of juicy blackberry fruit aromas and flavors, chocolaty, smooth ripe tannins and some savory oak nuances.  Pass me the spare ribs, please!

Cline Zinfandel (~10)
Smooth structure with rich, berry flavors finishing with a touch of spice and hints of vanilla.  This easy drinker pairs well with a variety of smoked meats. 

Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel (~20)
The 2009 Lytton Springs scored 95 points with Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.  We’ve always said you can’t go wrong with Ridge, and this is no exception.  Black fruit, plums, licorice and smoke.  Bring on the brisket!

2009 Ridge Ponzo Zinfandel. (~30)
Ok, so this goes over the $20 qualifier, but… if you’re willing to splurge a bit and can get your hands on a bottle, this is one of the best wines we’ve tasted this year.  Highly recommend.  It may just be the star of your BBQ.  MMMMM….

All wines available at BevMo and Specs 

You can't go wrong with a Ridge Zinfandel

Maybe it's because we're from California, but we count Zinfandel among our favorite wine varietals. And, when it comes to Zin, a Ridge Zinfandel is always a safe bet. Some are critical that it’s hard to remember one single vineyard Ridge Zinfandel from the other – they all have the same plain-Jane label – but that really shouldn’t matter. They’re all exceptional.

Here are a few examples:

2006 Ridge Carmichael Zinfandel

We shared this outstanding wine with my parents when we enjoyed a gondola ride on the Coronado Cays. It was distinctively Ridge - jammy and smooth with just a hint of pepper on the finish. See our smiles?

Enjoying a Ridge on our Gondola Ride in the Coronado Cays2009 Ridge Ponzo Zinfandel

Sally and I recently spent three awesome days touring Napa (see that post). After Day 1, we unwound at the Bounty Hunter Wine Bar & Smokin' BBQ and ordered a 2009 Ridge Ponzo Zinfandel to go with it. Despite all of the amazing wine we’d tasted that day, the Ponzo was at the top of our list. It was oh so smooth with dark cherry flavors, a little jamminess, and some lusciously soft tannins on the finish. Simply outstanding - see my smile?

Enjoying at Ridge at the Bounty Hunter Wine Bar and Smokin' BBQ

2007 Ridge Old School Zinfandel

Last Saturday, we enjoyed a nice romantic dinner at our favorite neighborhood Italian restaurant, Antica Trattoria. We brought a bottle of 2007 Ridge Old School Zinfandel to go with our meal. It smelled like figs on the nose, was jammy like a Ridge should be, had hints of raspberry and fig on the front palate, was silky smooth on the mid palate with a luscious mouth feel and a little pepper on the finish. Wow – this wine was outstanding - see my smile?

Enjoying a Ridge at Antica Trattoria in La Mesa, CA

How We're All Connected in 6 Degrees of Wine

Last Friday night, Sally and I enjoyed a bottle of 2006 Benzinger Stone Farm Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon while dining at our favorite local restaurant, Terra American Bistro. The wine and the meal were both fantastic, but the experience also reminded us how sharing wine creates so many fun and interesting connections. We did the calculations and realized that the Benzinger we were enjoying that night could be traced back to our love of wine in just six degrees of separation.

And no, Kevin Bacon is not involved.

Sally drinking Benzinger at Terra#1: Benziger

Benziger is a certified organic winery in the Sonoma wine region. They make a lot of fantastic wine, including the Cabernet Sauvignon we had at Terra. The 2006 Stone Farm Vineyards version had dark cherry and blackberry flavors with incredible tannins that started with the first taste and lasted all the way down. It was a wonderful match with Sally's bistro burger and my chipotle skirt steak. The only problem is we had purchased only one bottle, so this was a one and done experience. Boo.

#2: Lenore

My friend Lenore had recommended we try Benzinger when we were planning one of our wine adventures a few years ago. Friends are always a great source of ideas for trying new wines, and Lenore's suggestion didn't disappoint. Over the years, we've discovered many terrific new wines this way.  

A tasty glass of Matanzas Creek Merlot#3: Matanzas Creek Winery

Sally and I recently enjoyed a bottle of 2006 Matanzas Creek Merlot. How did we discover this wine? Lenore shared a bottle with me. Proving that shared bottles are the best bottles, this one was tremendous. We normally try to pair nice wine with a nicer meal, but this time we were in the mood for comfort food and opened it up with plain ol' spaghetti. The Merlot made the spaghetti seem gourmet and we continued to savor the wine long after the meal was finished. It had brighter fruit flavors than a typical Merlot, but was soft and delicate with wonderful tannins on the finish.

Jane Messick pouring wine at Mazzocco#4 Mazzocco Winery

Why did Lenore give us a bottle of wine from Matanzas Creek Winery? Besides being a very nice person, she remembered us talking about a winery I liked in Sonoma. Mazzocco and Mantanzas sound a lot a like, so it was a happy accident that Sally and I discovered a new winery in the process. We had visited Mazzocco in 2007 with our friend Heather and had a great time. Side note - we discovered Mazzocco thanks to our real estate agent, Pat Donovon, who gave us a bottle as a housewarming gift.

Jeff starting to get a little blurry at Hess#5 Artezin Wines

While tasting wine at Mazzocco, we met Jane Messick, who sells grapes used to make Artezin Zinfandel. We love Artezin!

#6 The Hess Collection

Artezin is made by Hess, one of our favorite wineries. Hess is the first wine that we both remember getting us excited about wine. And, it's probably our most shared.

Holiday Wine Sharing

The holidays are an excellent time to share a bottle(s).  After years of crashing friends and family, it was time for us to host our first Thanksgiving Dinner. With family in all week, we shared quite a few bottles and they all paired very nicely with the food currently up for grabs. 

Thanksgiving Day was all Cuvaison ~ an appropriate choice as we are very thankful for all the great wines they produce.  We started the afternoon with the 2010 Vin Gris and washed down our Thanksgiving dinner with the 2009 Bald Mountain Zinfandel. 

2010 Vin Gris of Pinot Noir

We are not normally fans of rose’ wines. And, I will admit, when the Vin Gris arrived as part of a club shipment I mentally put it on the ‘gift it’ list.  We later visited Cuvaison in Carneros and it was on the tasting menu. At first sip, we realized this was not a typical rose’ ~ a great surprise ~ and it quickly moved from the ‘gift it’ to the ‘it’s a keeper’ list! 

The wine has bright, fresh fruit without being overly sweet.  Like its parent wine, Pinot Noir, it has a very elegant, smooth structure. The biggest hit of the day was pairing it with the prosciutto wrapped melon. Quite enjoyable, and all were bummed when the bottle went empty!

Check out this short video from the winemaker, Steve, where he describes the wine in more detail. 

2009 Bald Mountain Zinfandel

We tasted a lot of Zinfandel on our California wine adventure earlier this year.  The ’09 Bald Mountain Zin really stood out ~ hands down the best we tasted on the trip.  It has a nice berry fruit nose, smooth but jammy on the palate, with a light peppery finish.  This full-body, fruit forward zin was a perfect pairing with our traditional Thanksgiving dinner. 

While it will probably age very well over the next 5-7 years, it is so darn good now I know our few remaining bottles won’t last that long. Only 685 cases were produced.  If you happen to come across a bottle, snag it.  It is a special treat!

What wine did you enjoy with your Thanksgiving feast?