UPDATE U-TURN: Week 4 Virtual Tasting - Get your RHINE On - Brian Tuite - Redwood Empire Food Bank DEC16 - DEC23

UPDATE: 48hrs to go and things are slowing down, maybe we all need a palate cleanser after all this Zinfandel. For DEC 22nd & 22rd you can add a Rhine White and I’ll donate $5 for each of those notes on top of the $10 for each Zinfandel note. Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner, Pinot Gris… Whatcha say? Let’s finish this week strong!

This week we are tasting and toasting to Zinfandel/Tribidrag/Primitivo/Crljenak Kastelanski, California’s Heritage Grape. Your selection must contain Zinfandel but need not be 100% Zinfandel nor strictly from California. Blends are fine as well. Still wine, sparkling, sweet… as long as Zinfandel is on the label as a component I’ll accept it.

I will donate $10 per tasting note to the Redwood Empire Food Bank. As an added bonus, since Fred Scherrer has shown support of REFB, if you post a note of a Scherrer Zinfandel I will double my donation from $10 to $20 for that note and every other Scherrer Zin note. 2020 has been a trying year for everyone and the REFB is there as always. Last year they served 1 of every 6 people in Sonoma, Humboldt, Del Norte, Mendocino and Lake Counties through their 3 Hunger Initiatives. In 2020 the demand has increased dramatically. Over 30,000 households are served per month since March 15th 2020 and the equivalent of over 5,000,000 meals served since the start of COVID-19.

I encourage matching donations, your money will go a long way.
For every dollar donated the REFB will distribute $4 in healthy food!
Think about it, our little drive can fund the enitre REFB for a day or more. So far I have two anonymous donors. One matching up to $500 and another up to $1,000. I humbled by their generosity.

I also encourage you to post a picture of yourself with the wine. I won’t put a monetary value on that photo but hey, who are you hiding from? Maybe you’ll get some likes. [wink.gif]

So let’s see those notes pile up and hungry stomachs fill up! [berserker.gif]

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Bump… Stand those bottles up!

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Somebody got excited…

We’ll start the thread tomorrow. LOL

And I opened a Carlisle already. Ha!

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OK, I updated the compendium using this thread and changed the title to match.

Here are a couple of links to your Cellartracker to make it easy to put a hurting on Brian’s wallet:

Zinfandel in my cellar: https://www.cellartracker.com/list.asp?Table=List&szSearch=zinfandel

Scherrer zin in my cellar: Advanced Search - CellarTracker

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Got snow coming here, so it’s going to be Zinfandel weather!

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I jumped the gun last Sunday forgetting it was going to be Oregon week. I had planned on definitely popping this for Zin week. So it counts. More to come.

  • 2006 Ridge Geyserville - USA, California, Sonoma County (12/6/2020)
    The cork looked like it could have been put in in the last five years. Barely any ingress. Very richly colored still. Only a light touch of bricking. Only faint hints of oxidation of aging in the wine as well. Showing lots of plummy expression right now. A a solid dolop of tannin. Like the Petite Sirah is most awake at the moment. Tasty, rich wine with a long way to go. There is enough acid to keep all that fruit on it’s skids. Long way to go here.

Posted from CellarTracker

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Too funny, I went to pull that exact wine from my closet last night and the slot was empty… “missing or drunk”.

Has Cris been over recently? [whistle.gif]

I just looked and I have some Zinfandel to drink. Kudos to Brian (and Fred Scherrer) for this virtual tasting! A very good cause.

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Got Scherrer but it’s a Dry Rose’ of Syrah. Bought some this spring as Fred & Judi really seemed to need the support at that time. Believe they may have been working the vineyards during day and packing wine at night. To keep the lights on…

I received another anonymous matching donation offer today up to $1,000.00. The generosity of the Berserkers shines strong, thanks so much! You are all making a big difference for a lot of people this Holiday Season.

I’ve had a Bedrock ‘19 Old Hill standing up since the box arrived - here’s my reason to pull a cork!

Strangely, the purchase history lists “fell off a truck” as the store. [dontknow.gif]

Now we’re getting somewhere rolleyes

  • 2018 Ridge Zinfandel Pagani Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley (12/16/2020)
    Early, early, early and tight/linear as a result. There’s a lot to unpack here, but time is needed to do so. The oak averse should hold off, but several hours of air bring the bramble fruit to the front, and it’s a clear view to a classic Ridge Zin in another 10-12 years. I just doubt I will be able to wait.

Posted from CellarTracker

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  • 2018 Carlisle Zinfandel Sonoma County - USA, California, Sonoma County (12/16/2020)
    This touches on all the facets of a Carlisle zin. Deep crimson color. The nose has bright red berries and bramble. Palate is terrific, red berries and tart cherry. Fruit forward but in a delicious way Medium acid and medium finish.

Posted from CellarTracker

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Thanks for getting this going guys! [berserker.gif]

  • 2014 Once & Future Wine Zinfandel Bedrock Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley (12/16/2020)
    Took lots of air to open up, notes from 3rd night. Bedrock nose of bramble fruit, palate of rich blackberry and tart Marion Berry, great depth, well structured and poised to remain exceptional for quite some time. Very impressive.

Posted from CellarTracker

I drink a lot of Zinfandel with most of it from Bedrock and Carlisle so I thought this would be a good start to the week.

  • 2012 Carlisle Zinfandel Bedrock Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley (12/16/2020)
    PnP. Nose of muted blueberries. Palate is smooth and mature with limited fruit. Has a savory aspect where nothing much sticks out except for some bramble. Nice but nothing special. I would say it’s time to drink up soon. (90 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Bought this from Fred last year according to Cellartracker. Sure had great provenance!


Posted from CellarTracker

2018 Pedroncelli Zinfandel Rose
Excellent aromas of strawberry, lemon, watermelon. A hint of some brambly funkiness. Light red fruit flavours, also some apple. Strong acidity, but rounded, lots of minerality, and a strawberry-lemonade finish with some sage or something of the sort at the end of the finish. Another nice vintage of this.

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