I stand corrected. Thanks MetalDave. Since Zinfadel was one of the earliest cultivated vines it just seemed that way. Through DNA testing it turns out that it originated in Croatia as the Crljenak grape. Primitivo is a close relative. The foxy character of the native American grapes were not desirable and many immigrants wanted the wine of their homelands and tried their best to bring vines over and cultivate them but with much difficulty. Grafting became a method of adapting the vinifera to American rootstock. Then the temperance movement became even more challenging to winemaking. We are still feeling the effects of Prohibition. Unfortunately Wine Library can’t ship here to Maryland because of these vestiges of a bygone era.

Foie gras is illegal in California, Chicago, and over a dozen countries including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Israel, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland. I’m also not a vegetarian, but it’s basically made by force-feeding ducks until their livers expand to 10X their normal size. If you can make it through the video clips at http://www.nofoiegras.org/, bon appetite!

Problem with the sound?
CLINE 2002 Big Break Zin….yummy

Here we are watching another episode of WLTV.

Hoping to travel to Bordeaux this Fall for a kosher wine making opportunity.

Kosher Wine again?

Yes

Love Foie Gras and love zins. Never had them together but I’ll give it a shot. I prefer sauteed foie gras to the patte but its all good.

QOTD – Not sure how many zins I’ve had but its lots and lots.

Favs? Biale Black Chicken, Turley, Seghesio Sonoma County is a great entry level zin.

Yoooo Gary !!!
Looooove dat Zinfandel!!!! Like Mott, never had
any foie gras. Hope to try it before i keel-over!

QOTD: Zin is me 2nd favorite red (next to Pinot),
so i’ve had a zillion of’em. Love da Rosenblums,
Ravenswoods, Ridges, Rafanellis, Rochiolis, Peachy
Canyons, etc., etc., etc.

Whaaaaat, foie gras illegal in California??????
So much for tryin’ dat before i’m dead!! 🙁

Wayno, have Gary Vay-ner-chuk send you some.

Also, Boston Ben – Foie Gras is NOT illegal in the UK. It’s on the menu at Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant, The Fat Duck for one and I’m sure many others. Ben, do you wear Nike products? Those are manufactured by small children in sweat shops. Buy your wife a diamond? I need say no more. Buy your gas a Shell? They support major human rights abuses in Africa. There’s much more to worry about than ducks. Pass the foie gras!

GV,
Your show is great! Don’t change a thing!
Excellent topic – Zins deserve a spotlight.
QOTD: A lot of the Vaniacs got it right – A. Raffenelli is awesome. Storybook Reserve is killer and I really, really like Ledson Zins.
It should go without saying that Seghesio and Ridge make great Zins.
Keep bringing the thunder, I love it! 🙂

Sobon Estate Zins Best Value out there!! I think from Plymouth, Ca (not sure)

Gary — I’m sad to learn that you’re just another one of the food elite who doesn’t think that his consumption has any ethical consequences whatsoever.

As others have said, I’m not militant about eating meat, but eating the burst liver of a tortured, force-fed goose is about the most disgusting and reprehensible food-related act I can imagine this side of eating live monkey-brains.

I’m all for amoral hedonism, but this kind of callousness is above you. This is the first, and only, episode of WLTV I haven’t been able to watch.

Had the ’04 Dancing Bull last week (hmmmm, fake? yes, would go along with that, gave it 84 on my scale) and have an 03 Ravenswood Lodi waiting to be popped, at last I have some wines to compare. I might have to open my Hungarian Foie Gras (did you pick up any on your recent trip?, it’s a steal).

QORD. I’ve only ever had 5 Zins, all from Cali. Best so far, Ravenswood Vintner’s blend 2003, gave it an 88, but I think I was being generous. Hopefully the 2003 Lodi or the 2003 Walker’s Pass I have can beat that.

OK – I have been leerking for the past couple but I had to shout out! GOOOO BOO SOXS!!! LOL

LOVE Ravenwood merlot….

Cheers!
Rich

….oh, and a big shout out to Chris M, nice to see you for real!

Love Zins. We drink them quite a lot. Ridge mostly since we’re members of their wine club. Favorite vineyards are the Lytton Springs and the Geyserville for 2005. We also have had Rosenblum, Ravenswood, and Seghesio.
Not a big fan of foie gras; but try it with figs stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped in proscuitto, now your talking.

Foie Gras is an acquired taste. I have not been a fan of Zins in the past. I plan to revisit them and with this pairing I feel my experience will be that much better. I like the fact that we are changing the wine world!

I just noticed that the wines you review on winelibrary aren’t reviewed by you on corkd.com! Don’t be a corkd lurker 😉
-d

Gary,

Enjoyed your Zin episode.

I’ve been drinking Zin since the early 90’s. In ’94 my wife and I along with some of our wine club members got a personal tour of Ridge by Paul Draper – what an experience!! In 2000 my wife and I also got a personal tour and barrel tasting at Ravenswood (we were stockholders at the time)- again an event to remember. I just remembered, I still have a bottle of Barricia from that trip. It’s time to drink it in honor of the Zin episode.

Favorite Zin? Tasted too many to remember specifics, but I keep going back to and have enjoyed all the Ridge and Ravenswood(No wimpy wines)zins over the years by themselves and w/ hearty foods, BBQ, pizza, hamburgers, Italian, cheese… well, you get the picture. I drink the Ravenswood Vintner’s Blend zin as an “everyday” wine, but will now have to try the Lodi. Thanks for the tip.

Gary can usually do no wrong in my eyes but I’m disappointed that he would promote foie gras.

QOTD: Bella Vineyards Zins, they make a couple that are super-duper. About 30?

QOTD: I love Michael-David Vineyards’ 7 Deadly Zins (also from Lodi). Good stuff.

MetalDave – producing foie is illegal in the UK. And the answers are no, no, and no.

Gary– Love foie gras, but what is the stuff that you are squeezing out of those plastic tubes? What’s next, Velveeta-in-aerosol-can? Actually, the Velveeta and Rancho Zabaco should pair well….

Best zin? hmmmm…. Unti and Quivira in the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma come to mind– bright but balanced. I like Joseph Swan’s Zins from Russian River Valley too– cool climate zins, elegant soft-spoken wines. Recently introduced to Linne Calodo zins from Paso Robles– delicious cherry-with-a-pinch-of-pepper type zins. Aren’t wines wonderful?!