QOTD Earthquake Zinfandel from Lodi as mentioned below is my favorite for the price (about 20 bucks), but have also fallen in love with the Turley stuff

Awesome episode as always I love ridge

Gary,
Great show! I am a big zin fan and enjoy wines from Ridge.

QOTD 1: Lamborn Family zin by Heidi Barrett. A great Howell Mountain wine. Also Howell Mountain 1999 Old Vine; we had this at a restaurant in Scottsdale and still talk about it!

Gail

Gary,

I stumbled on this site while researching some Riojas. This episode particularly hits home as I visited a Ridge winery in Healdsburg, Lytton Springs, and bought the Three Valleys, Pagani Ranch and Ponzo after some intense tasting. Anyone in that area should take the beaten path to this vineyard. Anyway, I have to say that I found all three to be great and I always consider Ridge when I see them on the wine list. I think that you may have suffered through a bad bottle of the Lytton, but I am glad to see a site that has such a friendly venue for wine afficiandos.

One more thing, do you guys deliver to Florida?

Rob
Altamonte Springs FL

I am a big fan of Ridge. We visited the Healdsburg location in Sept. '06. The facility is very nice, and the wines excellent as well.

I have to wonder, Gary, if maybe your bottle of Lytton Springs was a bit off. I recently had a bottle of the LS Zin which was very very nice. I'll agree, maybe not a 95, but I would have given it a 92.

I'll second what Comment 69: By Alaska1 said about Everett Ridge.. Neat place to visit too in Healdsburg California..

They now are part of Esterlina Vineyards which has an awesome Riesling..

Gary,

I actually love The Ridge you tasted a few months back - and if it weren't 3am, I'd have the gumption (sp???) to check the label out. I am 'cellaring' a bottle to drink in a year or so and I am curious to see the changes. Zins are my absolute favorite wine.

AAA

Gary,
Excellent concept and thanks for taking the idea from the Forums. You mentioned two hours open, but I too wonder whether they were decanted and would have benefitted from being open longer because it seems unusual for the nose to be restrained on the Lytton. QOTD- Can't list just one - 1) 91 Ridge Lytton Springs 2)'01 Turley Duarte (perhaps because it was excellent and yet smelled/tasted unlike a Zin) and 3) '01 Hartford Court Fanucchi Wood. I have a '99 Turley Howell Mountain Pringle that I'll be drinking this year that may challenge this listing.

Why are you using a Syrah/Amarone/Malbec glass to taste Zinfandel?

Favorite Zin: Earthquake Lodi Zin (Wine Library - $19.99); all kick, no filler. Wimpys need not apply.

Favorite zin? 2002 Elyse A.K.A. Unbelievable juice.

Zindfandels fill up a lot of my wine cabinet. Many from Turly, Ravenswood and Rosenblum single vineyards. Great as always Gary.

Hey Gary,

Favorite Zin is the Brown Estate Zinfandel from Napa. Vintage was either the 03' or 04'. Pretty tasty wine and the best zinfandel of the group from this varietal that I have tried.

-Benji

Lytton Spring has long been a favorite - I havent had the 04. Storybook Mountain also makes several great, quite age-worthy wines. And the Hanna Bismark Ranch 00 from Sonoma was awesome when drank a year ago.

How about seeing some verticals in the future?

Best zin I every had was from "Storybook Mountain" in Napa. I think it was a 1998.

QOD: Favorite zinfandel: 2004 Robert Biale Black Chicken Ranch Zinfandel

Gary good episode, I'm not a big fan of the zins though. Please taste these, or some of these wines sometime in the future. QOTD 2: Clone 5 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Library Code: 29687, Juslyn Vineyard Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 Library Code: 29689, Macarico Aglianico Del Vulture 2003 Library Code: 4992, Paternoster Aglianico Del Vulture Don Anselmo 2000 Library Code: 4845. Or maybe do different grapes with similarities to help get people "like me" out of the same grape ruts. "Nebbiolo, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon" Thanks ~ Jtk

Hi Everyone,

I really like the Ridge wines, but are they old school? Are they new school? In the old days they were far ahead of the other winemakers, better than most Cabernet Sauvignons. Are they as good, or better than their competitors? I'm asking, ....

Best Zin?... Wow. That's tough... right now 2 words spring to mind: Robert Biale.

Great stuff Gary!

Mmmmm... Ridge wines. Some of the best Zins out there. I had a 1983 Geyserville a couple of years ago that was still GOOD.

There's a great tasting at the end of this month (I'm going!) in SF that focuses on Zinfandel producers - ZAP (http://www.zinfandel.org/festival/). If you're a Zin fan, you should go!

Hi Gary,

Actually, my favorite Zin happens to be one of the bottles you missed by Ridge, the Pagani Ranch. The 01 is great, dence, but a little more austere than the other bottles. And maybe its a trend, but I usually find most of their Zins to be a little hot on the finish. The Pagani has a similar profile on that note.

J-E-T-S

god-darn hahahaha I had to laugh

We like Peachy Canyon Zin, and Starry Night.
Nice episode Gary!

Favorite Zin for a "fruit bomb" is the Monster from Norman. I also really like the Carl and Sawyer Vineyard efforts from Wilson Winery in Sonoma. The 2004 vintage is outstanding.

Rafanelli Zin is my fav...I have always wondered about the Ridge wines but have never bought any of thier wines due to all the blends...Glad I have second opinion...

Great show Gary. I saw the Ridge Gyserville at WL last Friday. I have always heard good things about the vineyard, but have never had any. As much as I love Zinfandel, I need to give them a try.

The show was somewhat related to a question I asked a couple of times. That was: What vineyard do you think does the best job producing multiple varietals? I remember you having Hogue and St. Jean on early episodes and you liked some wines and not others.

QOTD: The best Zin I've had was a Martinelli Jackass Vineyards 2002. HUGE!

Nice. I've always liked Ridge. Ummm...I've had plenty of satisfying Zins, but I can't really think of which single one I like the best. I've always been happy with Turley, and now that their prices are getting a little more reasonable, they're even better. I definately think Zins should always be affordable though.

A company called Outpost makes a pretty kick-butt Zin. I've only had it twice, but both times I was impressed. OK, have a blast in Bahston. Do those people tailgate with Lobster? Tell your defensive ends to sack Brady a whole bunch of times, cause I'm sick of my wife constantly telling me how hot he is.

GO BEARS!!!
T

QOTD- Peachy Canyon Incredible Red is my favorite Zinfandel.

Show idea- 4 wines from Justin Winery
Syrahs (including Ojai)
Please no more Sauvignon Blanc tastings

E

QOTD -- Absolute best Zin ever poured down my gullet.... Hands down -- 1985 Nalle.

CD

First post...ever...how bout some sherry. Never was really into it, then had the 1927 solera...it was awesome. And bring out supafly snooka!!!!

1) Alvear Fino Sherry
Type: Spanish Sherry
Size: 750ML | Vintage: | Library Code: 21068 | Email this


2) Alvear Pedro Ximenez Solera 1927
Type: Spanish Dessert Wine
Library Code: 2881

Great Show

QOTD: Haven't had to many Zins untill last year so far we like the 04 2Up, & the Grappler

Can you please try these wines?
Library Code: 7505 Twenty Bench Cab
Library Code: 27784 Lemelson Pinot Noir Cuvee X 2003

Long-time lurker but can't resist given that I love zins.

First off, Lars is amazing. As a former Minnesotan, he's dead-on, scary good. Reminds me of my father-in-law from the northern woods.

Favorite zins? Hard to argue against those who suggested Rosenblum's Rockpile, a really hot AVA these days. Same goes for recent Elyse releases, though they have that oak-monster and high-alcohol thing going (RP wines) and so might seem slightly unbalanced for some. And I've heard from others that Swift's Prisoner is awesome. Agree that the Turley's have lost some of their charm; last 3-4 bottles have been disappointing. Di Arie's an interesting wine and I like it enough to buy a half-case every year or two. Yet it tastes a little manufactured to me (perhaps no surprise given the winemaker's pedigree; I swear that you can actually taste the Captain Crunch in his wines).

I used to like Ravenswood and their "no wimpy wines" philosophy a lot--especially the Old Hill and Dickerson bottlings. Yet they went through a slump a few years ago. I think they're finding their stride again, yet in the end I come back to Ridge with my favorites being the voluptuous '97 or '01 Pagani or perhaps the sleeker '99 Lytton. The Ridge "magic" is Draper's talent and the fact that they use field blends (with petite syrah especially) that make their wines more multidimensional with far greater structure than most.

Great segment, Gary. Since it's play-off time, why not continue with the zins on Friday and compare your fav Ridge zin (Geyserville?) to some of the others in your portfolio, including Shelton and Di Arie? Here's a suggested line-up, though it omits several other potential superstars from Rosenblum, Seghesio, Terraces and Storybook, as well as your great value in the Rocky Creek:

Carol Shelton 2004 Rockpile (9638)
di Arie 2003 Southern Exposure (8066)
Fife 2002 Old Vines (9332)
Ravensood 2004 Barricia (28801)or Tedeschi (28800)
Ridge (your choice)

p.s. agree the 2004 Lytton was overrated at 95 pts; even Tanzer's number seems high for this wine especially given how stingy he typically is. Maybe I'm missing something and it will knit together in a few years? Hope so.

QOTD #1: Turley and Nalle

QOTD#2: 2005 Pinots from smaller producers
Landmark Pinot Noir Grand Detour 28995
any AP Vin 29448 29445 29451 29449 29447 29446 29452
any Loring 28933 28934 28935 28936 28937
Sineann Pinot Noir Wyeast 28303
Bjornstad Pinot Noir Hellenthal 29667

QOD - My Favorite Zin has got to be a 2004 Elyse Howell Mountain Zin ...absolutely wonderful!

JOEYdaMUSH, great observation on the labels!LOL
Gary, Zins are the best.Thanks a bunch.
Seghesio can not be beat on taste and price.Delicious!

Yoakim Bridge Dry Creek Valley

Thanks, Gary
Very interesting episode.

I haven’t had zin in a while but I really liked Dry Creek vineyards old vine zinfandel .

I 2nd Vinifera's suggestion of a Finger Lakes episode. (Welcome Vinifera and thanks for your suggestions)

Hey, Wine Guy. Great episode. Zins are at the top of my list.

QOD: Nalle. Hands down. Doug and Lee Nalle make an incredible Zin. The Wine Guy should check them out. http://www.nallewinery.com/

Say, didn't Namath wear pantyhose? The playoff beard is enough, so don't you be thinkin' on emulating Broadway Joe.

Lars

Gary, here's a fabulous Zin I bet you've never had, maybe never even heard of. It's called C.G. di Arie, and it is incredible. The grapes are sourced from "The Original Grandpère Vineyard" in the Shanandoah Valley. Established 130 years ago, it is the oldest living Zinfandel vineyard in America. The grapes come from the southern-exposures slope at 1,600 feet. The founders are Chaim and Elisheva Gur-Ariehs.

Chaim is a Turkish-born Israeli, who immigrated to the US and became a highly successful food scientist, responsible for developing such products as, Cap'n Crunch Cereal, Del Monte Pudding Cups, wine coolers, and Power Bars.

The 2004 is 86.5% Zinfandel, 9.0% Petite Sirah Lodi, 3.5% Cabernat Sauvignon, 14.7% alcohol, 3.6 pH, and less than 0.1% residual sugar. It was produced in Chaim's unique "Submerged Cap" fermentation tanks. Intead of pumping over or punching down the cap, Chaim's method keeps the cap completely submerged for the entire fermentation period, resulting in incredible flavor extration and unblievably silky tannins. You have to experience it to believe it.

ugh I type like I am still drunk