Saturday, May 28, 2011

O.Z. (Original Zin)

Wednesday night's wine was the 2007 Ridge Old School Zinfandel (Sonoma County, California). This vintage had a very limited production -- just 51 barrels were made ($30 a bottle).
If this wine were any more fruit-forward, it would be a glass full of grapes. Despite a high alcohol content, at 15.2 percent, there is no heat, just a plush, untannic flood of zin flavor. I found it cherry-sweet for a zinfandel -- I usually get more spice from this grape.
One review said the Old School has a "port-like taste," which might not marry well with food, and I agree. This wine yearned to be a stand-alone drink. And that's OK -- it's just not something I could drink every day.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Cork Conundrum

Austrian whites are buzzworthy these days -- I had my first Grüner Veltliner about this time last year -- but I had never had an Austrian red until Bud dropped by bearing one a couple of weeks ago.
I was puzzled at first by the 2007 Steininger Zweigelt Novemberlese (Kamptal Österreich), and not just because of its multisyllabic name. What grape was this? (Zweigelt, it turns out, harvested in November, just like it says in the name. I guess it's time to learn some German.) And how on earth do you get into the bottle? Under the foil I found my first glass cork -- huh? Slice off the foil, then nearly slice off a digit getting a sharp knife under the stopper. Does this wine come with health insurance?
After some struggling, we finally got it uncorked. The wine had a peppery bite that evoked zinfandel, except lighter on the palate, and strong notes of cherry. It was medium dry (13.5 percent alcohol), a pleasant but not showstopping red.
At about $18, this was a wine I enjoyed but would hesitate to buy unless someone else is cracking it open.