I had the Edmeades Mendocino Zinfandel 06 which was not bad. it needed some air time to open up where the nose changed from black pepper to cassis. A bit of oak but integrated with nice fruit.

frank family zin rocks my boat

I goes to show that it takes a lot to tear down a well build Brand.

Just of kicks you should do Brand taste challenges for different products every once and a while.

hey it was educational regardless of the outcome – if nothing else, it’s what NOT to get for thanksgiving.
QOTD: the consistently best zin is the Ridge Geyserville for me.
as far as bad ones go, I have had several lately that had a secondary fermentation, “frizzante” character which i find disgusting in a red. I think it’s a flaw – not sure what causes it.

I tried the Thomas Henry about 6 months ago as a recommendation-hated it, thin, herbacous, like a cheap Cote du Rhone….I recently had two I like, on the lower end, Klinker Brick 06 from Lodi-this Zin delivers well in the price range of $15-17, maybe a bit over oaked but good…..also had a Turley 2006 Cedarman Vineyard at the Palm in Atlanta-surprised the sh-t out of me. Good pure fruit, well-integrated oak and showing no heat despite 16.2 alcohol…and barely lasted 15 minutes in the decanter…..just purely delicious and what u want from a Zin.

Hi Gary, like your bearded look, you kinda look like a famous actor (sorry, dunno who)

Love the blind tastings, please revisit my comments from the other day for ideas on that, if you wish. Thanks again for friday’s shout out, we had a great weekend in NJ (A City w/ ex Mrs. Ritchie)

QOTD: Four Vines 2005, Maverick… great zin… try it.

Hi Gary, like your bearded look, you kinda look like a famous actor (sorry, dunno who)

Love the blind tastings, please revisit my comments from the other day for ideas on that, if you wish. Thanks again for friday’s shout out, we had a great weekend in NJ (A City w/ ex Mrs. Ritchie)

QOTD: Four Vines 2005, Maverick… great zin… try it.

Lodi zins have been very good. Cosentino makes several outstanding examples…his CigarZin at $15 what a deal

Oh, and Paso. Biker Zin was one of my favs of all time. A beauty.

But I have to part ways with Gary. I think zin is too powerful for Thanksgiving — unless you are stuffing the bird with short ribs.

In light of the suck ass wines on this show, I think you need a David
Lettermanesque “Smash Wall” – a white cement wall where you take crap
wines and smash the bottle agaianst the wall. Think that would really
make a statement as to how you feel.

QOTD: Although I’ve had a boatload I honestly can’t name any crapola
zins – so bad I musta forgot them. On the bright side – Four Vines
“Maverick” 2005. Very good juice.

Bummer of an episode-
at least you have the JETS!

QOTD- Have not been drinking any Zin lately but one of my favorites is Peachy Canyon.

LOVE LOVE LOVE the recent blind tastings! What the wine is worth tells me a lot more than a 0 – 100 score.

Two suggestions:

1) DO MORE BLIND SHOWS! 🙂

2) Focus less on guessing the right price. Give us the price at which the wine is a buy.

I’m liking Gravity Hills, Tumbling Tractor Zinfandel from Paso Robles, CA (gotta rep the home town). Great price point for the quality of wine. $13.99

I gotta say, the best wine of the bunch had the worst packaging, despite the little tear-off info, it was totally a musty country club looking wine, and the rest weren’t great either. Come on guys, you live in California, get good graphic designers.

Lack of quality just happens sometimes, unfortunately. I bought a merlot recently from a producer I thought I had heard good things about, only to find it to be watered down crap.

QOTD: I also seem to recall a recent Ravenswood vintage (I think it was the ’04) to be not that great. I had the 2006 Bogle Vineyards Zinfandel Old Vine about 2 months ago and thought it was pretty darn good.

Even though lousy wines, still enjoyed the episode and the blind tasting format – I love the unpredictability and the unbiasness.

Go Jets! And thats coming from someone born & brewed in Wisconsin. I think I’ve watched more Jets games than Packer games this year… 🙂

QOTD: I dont like most Zins – just not my varietal, I guess. But did have the Seghesio 07 tonight while watching the episode, and enjoyed quite a bit. Dont see it anywhere near the 93pts or #10 of the year like WS does – but still probably best Zin I’ve had.

Yo G, FUUUUUUUUUN & COOOOOOOOL Episode, even if the Vinos weren’t so
hot!! Hey, Ya can’t have everything. Hard ta follow up on a Great Jets
Victory…… How coool would a Jets/Giants Super Bowl be ??!!

QOTD: Had two Seghesio Sonoma County 1997s the other day & they were still bursting with flavor!! Haven’t had a “bad” one lately…..

Great show Gary,
Unfortunately none of them really showcased California?s favorite varietal (OK my favorite varietal).

Too bad ?The Vault? by Banknote Wine Company wasn?t in the mix, it would have blown the others away! Its a Zin blend similar to ?The Prisoner? by Orin Swift.

I have an idea……..

Taste off: ?The Vault? vs ?The Prisoner?! Napa Valley Zin blend showdown!

QOTD: ?T-Vine? Zinfandel, Brown Vineyard, 05 if you can find it, but 06 is almost as good. Amazing Zin producer.
Also I have to mention ?Valdez?, Rockpile Zinfandel 06, this one blew me away!

De-Lurked on Friday with that awesome blind.

I. LOVE. BLIND. You must kill your store’s sales of the stuff you rate badly. But I hope, hope, hope the uptick in the wines you rate well make up for it. Reminds me sooo much of the video game industry.

This episode is case-in-point why normal people **have** to depend on point scores. You just burned through **$140** worth of wine and only **one** bottle was really worth buying and drinking. We’re supposed to blow a bill and a half to find a decent bottle that matches our pallets and drinks OK with turkey?

To answer your question of the day (QOTD in these parts?): I predicted the results before you even started. I’ve had so much frankly **shitty** Calinfornia Zin in the past two years I refuse to buy it any more.

Congratulations California Zinfandel producers. You’ve self-destructed your market. I mean, the price point of everyone I know who drinks wine is $8-$15. We’ll stretch to $20-$30 if it’s a big occasion and we’ve had the wine, know it’s good, and matches the tastes of the people who’ll be celebrating with us. California Zin should nail this in the US, but we have an Epic Fail on their hands.

I’ve had these exact vintages of Coppola, Henry, and Ravenswood this year (all at office functions where they want to have a nice label, but don’t want to drop to much coin on alcohol). Garbage, swill, I’ll take a rail gin and tonic next, please.

Hey GV! MASSIVE congratulations to you and all the fellow jets fans for the huge, crazy big win!!! I was watching and rooting for jets early afternoon and then big time for my G-MEN also on sunday (10-1!)

i have not had any zin in the past year! wow, a shame! i really want to try the seghesio 07 sonoma and some good ridge zin–and i will soon!

i had the 04 coppola zin years ago and gave it about an 86 rating–not something i would recommend at all, but i didnt find it offensive.

Hey GV! MASSIVE congratulations to you and all the fellow jets fans for the huge, crazy big win!!! I was watching and rooting for jets early afternoon and then big time for my G-MEN also on sunday (10-1!)

i have not had any zin in the past year! wow, a shame! i really want to try the seghesio 07 sonoma and some good ridge zin–and i will soon!

i had the 04 coppola zin years ago and gave it about an 86 rating–not something i would recommend at all, but i didnt find it offensive.

I’m out on blind tasting episodes. Tried to fight thru but boring.
Please. Less BLIND.
Cowboys are back in it!
Check back tomorrow.

Great, great Zins from Paso Robles. Favorites…Tobin James (Balistic is great, but esp their reserves)and Peachy Canyon.

After reading all the comments so far, I have to wonder:

Why is anyone drinking Cali Zin?

It is so consistently bad at the lower prices and so hit-and-miss at the mid-to-high prices, what’s the point. Even at it’s best it isn’t that good.

Sounds like everyone with a Zin vine should just pull them up and replace them with something better. Or at least more consistent. Table grapes, maybe. Spinach? Sweet corn?

Gary,
Two words – Bordeaux Blind!

I miss you here in Illinois, if you know what I mean. 🙁

– Chris

so, 2 questions

Do you think the Howell was so cloying with nose vs. palate because it was high quality fruit that was over oaked?

Could you do a blind show that was international wines, all grapes, all bottles under $20? I’m sure many people would appreciate it (though it would drive up the price of the winner! And Ian, no mischief)

I’m a server who attends many wine tastings and has had the opportunity to taste some brilliant wines. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find many wines under $20 for day to day. I have found a few, but it gets really boring drinking the same few wines all the time.

Help a brother out!