The 20th Anniversary ZAP zinfandel festival was a big hit this year, as always. While I wasn't able to attend all events, I did make my way through the grand tasting. It's the first wine event I've attended since being back in the Bay Area and it was a great way to get back into the wine groove after living in Tucson, AZ for the last three years and being a stay-at-home mom for the last 15 months. If you would like a recap of the event, click here for the press release. I'm not going to regurgitate what other bloggers will probably say. Instead, I would like to highlight wines from three estates I liked the best. Why only three, you ask? Well, I thought about listing five or ten, but I think three is a nice number. There were so many wines and there's no way I was able to taste all of them due to time restraints. But of the ones I did taste, I think three really stood out to me in terms of quality and value.
Brown Estate, in Napa Valley is one that I really enjoyed. They poured the 2009 Napa Valley Zin, the 2009 Chile's Valley Zin and the 2009 Micky's Block. While they were all good, I liked the quality of the 2009 Napa Valley Zin for the $36 price. The others go for $55, and while that's not necessarily bank-breaking, they didn't stand out to me as much. Here's the link to the tasting notes for the Napa Valley Zin, and you can also purchase if you're interested.
Another winery I enjoyed tasting was Fritz Winery, from northern Sonoma. They poured their 2007 Estate, Dry Creek Valley, their 2008 Estate Reserve, Dry Creek Valley and finally their 2008 Estate Late Harvest, Dry Creek Valley. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to taste the late harvest, but the two others were great. If you're looking for value, the 2007 Estate goes for $25 and tastes very nice. However, if you're willing to spend a little more, the 2008 Estate Reserve is fantastic and goes for $40. Unfortunatly, they don't have the 2008 on their website, but here's the link for tasting and purchasing information for the 2007.
Last, but most possibly my favorite is the wine I tasted from Black Sears Vineyard and Winery located in the Howell Mountain AVA of Napa Valley. They poured their 2008 Estate, Howell Mountain Zin and it was fantastic, with traditional black pepper, brambly and fruit-forward. There's definitely notes of all spice, cinnamon and clove. There's also some hints of savory spices. It is a little higher in price at $45, but I think the quality makes it a great value.
I hope you all were able to attend the event and find wines that were your favorites. I also hope these three wineries give you something new to try if you don't know about them already.
Cheers!
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