CigarZin

Back in December I posted about a search for CigarZin. I'd tasted it at a local restaurant called 309 and very much wanted a bottle. In January I took C back to 309 and ordered a glass but was told that the Cosentino winery had been bought out and that they didn't have any of the cigarzin left and weren't sure if they were going to continue making it. I was bummed. We tried their normal zinfandel and it was good but not as spicey and wonderful as the cigarzin.

Then a couple weeks ago while at the wine tasting at UFS I ran into bottles and bottles of cigarzin. Another quick check of their website shows that they did merge with Vintage Wine Estates early this year. But their wine shop very much looks like they will continue to make and sell the CigarZin. The website lists the bottle at $22, I paid $14 or $15 at UFS a local discount store (with a huge liquor section).

I do perfer that good wineries stay small and family owned. Not that I know a lot about this but I love the romatic idea of it. Large wine companies that take over all the smaller ones ruin that dreamy perception. But I know that can get sorta political and I'll stick to more of what I know...good tasting wine.

CigarZin is yummy and yes that is now an official term to describe good wine. It has a nice rich berry flavor thats followed up by this spicey bite that makes me say hmmmmm. I could drink this wine by itself but it would be supurb with a nice meal. I will be buying more of this wine in the future. I give it 4 stars!

Oscar Night follow up

Yep it took a while to type up the Oscar night follow up, I've been sick again. This has been one heck of a year for colds, flus, and infections. At the moment everyone in my house is one the mend, and I'm playing blog catch up. With Miranda in town and tonight's wine slumber party lots of wine will be had.

So....

Oscar night was fun. We skyped across the country and drank together. There was a slight lag so California knew who the winner was about 5 seconds before we did but it was still fun. Unfortunately we had a big storm pass through and the we lost the channel showing the Oscars for a good part of the show. This kinda sucked but we did make do by watching Daniel Craig as James Bond, which sorta makes up for anything.

The first bottle opened for the red carpet and beginning of the show was Four Vines 2008 Old Vine Cuvee Zinfandel. I bought it at World Market a few weeks back when I was up in Chicago visiting the fam. I think I paid $10. This was a decent wine for the price. Smooth and fruity tasting. It's great for an every day cheap wine. It's good for I'd buy it again." On a side note while visiting their website I found they are doing a 4V Drink Naked Tour. I kinda wish their blog was updated.

The second bottle opened was Gnarly Head Pinot Noir. I've had their Old Vine Zin before and remember it being good. The pinot noir was $10 and I figured worth a try. It was ok. Not a lot of depth of flavor and it didn't get better w/ air over the next few days. It wasn't offensive or bad, but didn't stand out to me. I give it two stars.

OZV lodi zinfandel 2007

After a long day at work coming home to a baby who's starting to learn separation anxiety. We cooked up a supper that turned out so-so, but opened this bottle of wine. OZV, old zin vin, from the Oak Ridge Winery in Lodi California.

This wine was good right from uncorking. The first sip had sweet drips on the tip of the tongue in the beginning. And then the wine turned rich and jammy and smooth. Delicious. And got better as it breathed in our glasses. Both C and I polished the bottle off after baby went to bed.

The rating was unanimous between the two of us.... Lip Licking Good wine. It's a bottle we'd definitely buy again. I'm not sure how much it cost since it was a Christmas gift. But no matter the cost I'd get it again for both a gift and for us. I'd be curious if a second bottle is as enjoyable as this one. In fact after looking at the Oak Ridge winery website I'd look for and try any of the wines they make.

cigarzin search

I've found another wine to add to the "to drink" list. Cigarzin Zinfandel from Lodi California. I was at dinner last night with some friends and they ordered a glass. I'd heard good things and tried a tiny sip. It was yummy. Smooth, and fruity, and smooth. After some googling I'm pretty sure it comes from the Cosentino Winery. The 2007 vintage is supposed to be lovely which is what I sipped. Now to find a bottle is a nother mission/adventure.

Fire + Wine

One of my favorite Lodi wineries, Harney Winery, opened the winery tonight for "Ladies Night". They offered lots of fun stuff like tasting, drinks, food samples, and shopping for holiday gits. Instead of dealing with the crowds, we just grabbed a glass of wine and sat by the fire pit and toasted to life. Mine was the Old Vine Zinfandel ($9.00), hers was the Petite Sirah ($7.00).

Sometimes it's nice to just kick back and drink some wine. I hope you all do the same this week!

mocking the box

Yes I am a growing wine snob, most of the time I try to keep that to myself. I don't think any less of anyone if they only prefer the sweet wines, that is their opinion and taste. I don't think any less of anyone when they drink wine out of a box. I just make a mental note that they don't have the same wine preferences as me. I did have a hard time not mocking the box of wine I discovered at my parents house this holiday. I think I may have raised an eyebrow and they quickly went to defending this wine and insisting I try.

It was an Old Vine Zinfandel so I figured I had to give it a try. I'd never seen old vine zins in a box before. In fact I'd never heard of Bota Box wines before. They have quite an array of wines in a box. Each box is the equivalent of 4 bottles of wine and sold for $18. It's quite a deal. The wine was ok. Less concentrated as the beloved old vine zin's from Lodi California. Bota was also lighter in color and a bit fruitier than most zins as well. But all in all it was an ok wine. I wouldn't get it just for me to sip on. But if I were hosting a large group of people for a holiday this would be really perfect.

Cline 2007 Zinfandel

Two weeks ago we had some unseasonably mild weather for July. And the we went up to the Chicago area to see family it was a bit chillier and I was glad to have brought this bottle with me. I tend to like reds more in chilly weather although I can always drink a good red wine...pino noir, syrah, zin. I already knew Cline vineyards makes a decent zinfandel, but I haven't had it in about a year so this was a nice refresher.

It's a nice smooth zinfandel, with rich fruity flavors. It reminds me of fall and I want to nibble on cinnamon apples while sipping this wine. Or even while camping on a chilly evening while sitting around a camp fire. I would drink this again and again.

Earthquake Zinfandel

I am back from California although I still might be on California time. Ugh and the fact that it's Thursday is still confusing me. But I am back and have a couple of wines to share.

After being picked up at the airport, Miranda and I headed straight for Lodi to visit the vineyards on our list. First stop was Michael and David vineyards. I've reviewed several wines by them before, and Miranda is also a member of their wine club. We tasted a variety of their wines, a couple white, a rose that was interesting, and then several of the reds. Earthquake Zinfandel was my fave of the day and I quickly purchased a bottle.

This delicious zin is smooth and bold and full of flavor. I've said before Lodi zins are the best, and this lives up to that. The label and cork are both fitting for the name. And to quote the vineyard's description of the wine, "it will rock your world." Although heed my warning, with over 15% alcohol sip this one slowly.

PLEASE STOP YELLING AT ME!

Miranda Life Lesson #2: A hangover on expensive wine is similar to a hangover on cheap wine. True story.

2006 Lust Zinfandel

I needed to ship a box of wine home for Christmas for my alcoholic Illinois friends. So, I selected the Michael-David winery in Lodi, California because a) it's only 12 miles away and b) dude, it's delicious! And the best part if I signed up for the wine club then I got a big discount on the case plus I'd get shipments of wine throughout the year. Consider me sold! 

This winery is known for their 7 Deadly Zins wine and their Old Vine Zins which I've become really obsessed with. The wine club I signed up for contains quarterly shipments of 2-3 bottles of red wine. This month's shipment was 2006 - Lust Zinfandel and 2007 - 7 Deadly Zins. 

I uncorked the Lust tonight, which is easy the most expensive bottle of wine I've ever bought. Yikes! But holy cow is it worth it. Consider me hooked. I can just supplement my big purchases with 2 Buck Chuck in the meantime. That's classy right? Right?

Hidden Jewel Old Vine Zin

This bottle here is the reason for my 4 month binge of Zinfandel's. =0) We bought this when we visited Miranda out in California. The first night we went out to Lodi to find a winery that was open past 4 and found Hidden Jewel. Lodi California is known for their zinfandel's and for good reason....they're fabulous. After this vacation every time I went to the wine store I'd look for Lodi zins...they are always wonderful. This was the first bottle I had that was old vine zin. The flavors are slightly more rich but still smooth. It's a pity Hidden Jewel doesn't distribute around here.

Windmill Estates Old Vine Zinfandel

I have a back log of wines I wanted to document and this is the first of them. Since visiting Miranda in California and tasting some zinfandels from Lodi CA I became hooked. For about 4 months that was all I would drink. I'm branching out again now...but I still LOVE an old vine zin from Lodi. Lodi is not far from M and so she brought back some yummy zins for Christmas presents this year. I got a 2006 Windmill Estates Old Vine Zinfandel pictured here. This is from the Michael and David vineyards in Lodi. They also sell the well known Seven Deadly Zins..which is also very good but that's another post. I would actually really like to try the rest of their selection of wines...just for the shear genius of their names! =)
Windmill Estates is a nice zinfandel, although not my absolute favorite. It didn't seem to be quite as rich as other "old vine" zins that I've had from the area. It's actually only 76% Zinfandel and 24% petit Sirah, which is a nice combination but explains why it wasn't quite up to the other old vines I've had. I definitely enjoyed the wine and would have no issues having another bottle. It would be perfect if you were going to share it with a wine drinker that is just starting to enjoy a nice zin.