California Zinfandel’s That Are Highly Rated

California Zinfandel’s That Are Highly Rated – Episode #208

April 4, 2007

Wines tasted in this episode:

Question of the day: “How do you manage your cellar”

Gary Vaynerchuk tackles four serious red Zinfandel’s today and is excited to share his thoughts, please share yours.

Having trouble seeing this video? Click here for the Quicktime version

255 Responses

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April 4, 2007

JustinL
Gary –

Maybe there aren’t a ton of lurkers, just a lot of people like me who only comment occasionally.

Re: the Seghesio, sounds like it was co-fermented with Viogner.

QOTD: I “only” have about 10 cases, so I keep track of it in my head.
April 4, 2007

thescrewcap
My cellar is like 5 bottles so I keep that up in my domepiece.

Loved the Zin episode, I’ve been exploring Zin lately so it’s nice to see.
April 4, 2007

Pat Mc
I use the SS Chris spreadsheet with another spreadsheet tab for my wines. It’s a beautiful thing. Also agree with the plea to suggest how long to cellar some of these. Right now I’ve got “not yet definitely” “not yet I think” and “guess I’ll drink it now.”
April 4, 2007

Riezin
Zin is fun stuff, good choice. I think i am the only guy around who doesnt love Seghesio zins. They’ve never turned me on but everyone else seems to dig em. I have a cellar tracker acct but never actually got into it. Been thinking about another try lately. Mostly just keep in my head and refresh with frequent visits to take something out.
April 4, 2007

Paul M
QOTD: Excel spreadsheet for tasting notes and with only 100 or so wines on hand it is pretty easy to just look at them to see what I have.
April 4, 2007

waterandwine
yes, definitely, we like your winecasts here. Def one of the best. Keep up the good work and i hope to make it over to the Library one of these days whilst in Joisey. What is your take on Long Island wines/wineries? Going on a wine tasting, limo-bus riding birthday party in May for a second time but probably won’t make it through to too many wineries. (Just 14 of us but enough to cause a ruckus.)
April 4, 2007

Bobinnati
Nice topic. Zinfandel is just about my favorite, so I was happy to see a show devoted to it. QOTD – Hah! If only I could afford to have enough wine that it required something special to manage it! Maybe someday. For now, I have a small enough inventory that I just keep it in my head.
April 4, 2007

Alaska1
Gary, no score on the Four Vines? I was just talking about them (four vines) with some friends yesterday and we were going to try and find some. So tomorrow could you up date us with a score? Please. Ohhh and THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ZIN SHOW, WE ALL LOVE THEM. If you want to do more we will not complain.
April 4, 2007

Matthew L
What do you use to track your cellar Gary?
April 4, 2007

wildebeest
QOTD: I just have a document on my computer that contains info on all the wines that spark my interest. If I manage to acquire anything on the list, I note how many bottles are in my possession right alongside the rest of the info (in its own column, actually). I keep track of tasting notes, images (of the labels), prices, scores, and approximately when I ought to plan on drinking them. In fact, that leads me to a question (or a request, rather) for YOU, Chuk-man: would you be so kind as to tell us when we ought to pop the bottles you review??? I don’t mind tasting something in its youth when I’ve got multiple bottles to experiment with, but sometimes I feel as if I’ve stolen the life away from an innocent child. And if I only have a bottle or two, abortions of that sort can be a real tragedy. That’s right, Gary, for the low, LOW, price of a few extra words per episode, you can do your part to help STOP THE MURDER OF EMBRYONIC WINES!!!

btw, if you’re wondering about my other comment on this page (#70), it’s just a sophomoric 69 joke. I’m a little bit loopy today –> haven’t slept much.
April 4, 2007

KAHUNA
CaptM,
Zin is a favorite in our house- It is my wifes absolute favorite so we drink alot of it-
April 4, 2007

Matthew L
Good episode Gary. Zinfandel is one of my favorite varietals. Hadn’t tried it with rabbit. That’s a culinary leap for me, but I’m open to trying it.

QOTD: I use corkd.com to manage my wine. Probably no surprise that my screenname there is MatthewL.

Cheers!
April 4, 2007

njbabs
Well, you brought me out Gary.
QOTD: I use Cellar Tracker.
Thanks for expanding my palate and my wine knowledge. You’ve started a passion for wine in a younger drinker – I’m indebted to you! Well, actually I think I’ve spent enough at Winelibrary.com that we’re even…

Oh but I kid. Really, thanks!
April 4, 2007

Drewine
CellarTracker
April 4, 2007

Jennifer
YES you were missed. I got so excited about having a second chance at winning something free, though, that I spaced out for part of the episode. Must e-mail friends to comment.
April 4, 2007

Capt M
I forgot to say.. space for winekeeping is the big thing, perhaps for most serious wine lovers. It’s becoming a problem for me. That is.. not enough space for wine keeping and collecting. I have one of those Samsung 29-bottle fridges. It is very nice, specially the thermostat feature. 29 bottles is obviously nothing. I keep some bottles in my kitchen refrigetator, for lack of any other cool place to keep bottles. Other than that, I have no other cool place in my apartment to keep wine. There’s a wine club in Panama, called Vino Club, and supposedly, for the $100 yearly fee, they also provide their members some wine cellar space. I’m not a member, but I suppose I should be. Wine storage room is a big thing.
April 4, 2007

EricB
Hey! A Zinfandel episode! Thank you, Gary.
Gotta say, never had cactus juice.
QOTD – I use a Word doc, but thinking about putting everything on CT.
My classic Zin pairing… Anything BBQ.
April 4, 2007

Capt M
No doubt, one of my favorite episodes, just because Zin is, and I dislike to admit, maybe my favorite varietal. Gary, you didn’t score the Four Vines Dusi Ranch; I wish you had. I’d buy any of the four wines presented in a heart beat. QOTD: Up until very, very recently, I was keeping a log on a Excel spreadsheet, but for lack of time, I’ve stopped doing it. For one, it helps me keep track of what I like, or what I have enjoyed the most recently, and also what wines to stay away from. For two, tells me how much wine I’m drinking in a year, and how many different wines I’ve tried.

On a separate note, Gary, I took advantage of the Bordeaux coupon offered today via e-mail. I went for a half-case of the Chateau Valrose Cuvee. THANKS SO MUCH! Really, thanks so very much.
April 4, 2007

Jennifer
SHOPPERS DISCOUNT LIQUORS!
dang!
Just leaving ya data, sweetheart.
April 4, 2007

Wendy Elam
yummy, zinfandel! good show, as usual, gary! QOTD:i think the term “manage” overstates my process by just a bit! i did break down and buy a (12 bottle capacity!) refridgerator/cooler unit and, of course there’s always my hall coat closet! i record each of my purchases on a florescent/day glo colored, spiral-bound, 3 x 5 card flip chart kinda thing; when i crack open a bottle i make sure to record the date i opened it and my first (and second)impressions of nose and taste on the bottle’s handy little card. the system seems to work so far.
April 4, 2007

Lenn
Hey Gary…you comment whore.

Love the zins man…love em. Let’s do a petit sirah show sometime!
April 4, 2007

Dom
Shoppers Discount Liquors

Nice, nice episode of a very nice, though “cubby-hole-type” varietal. In other words, Zinfandel has it’s place in Peyton’s household though he likes it.

No “heat” on the Four Vines? Need to place my order now.

Glad you gave kudos to Eddie Robinson. Amazing, truly amazing from LA!

Banana? Really . . . gotta have it.

QOTD: I utilize two sites, one developed by a fellow foodie/wine friend. http://www.cellar-masters.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/CellarMastersApp and http://www.cellartracker.com

Sin Zin!
April 4, 2007

GottaGoDrink
QOTD- I have my own little invention going. Not efficient, but kinda fun and gives me something to do in my spare time. Separate lists for purchases and storage. Tasting notes are all in my head. Poor to average memory for everything else, great memory for wine.

Gary- Thanks for the Zin show. The ‘02 Seghesio Cortina or Old Vine was the first Zin we tried…big family favorite and I still have a few bottles from that vintage.
April 4, 2007

Bill O
I have a cellar with a few hundred bottles and I give it the once over about a third of the time when I get a bottle. It’s in my head.

It’s good to see an episode with big boy Zins!!

PS- Rockpile is an AVA.

Come to the ZAP tasting to taste all the big boys and much more.

A 15 year ZAP member and voulnteer!
April 4, 2007

DOE
I’m a lurker who is feeling bad for Gary because he doesn’t get enough comments. I manage my wine rack by writing a note on the bottle when I buy it so I won’t forget what it was and why I bought it and then I put the reds on the bottom and the whites toward the top and drink them and then do that all again.

I enjoy Wine TV and tell all my wine loving friends about it. They love it now too. But I don’t feel like having any more “stuff” right now so I didn’t call them and tell them to write.