Such a Variety

I have been a little slow on the post lately but this is not because of the lack of wine as that has been pretty consistent, no it has been down to pure laziness and other commitments. Over the past few weeks i have a sampled a few different wines and continued to look for the right Zin to take on my trip this summer.
I recently discovered the Syrah variety which i was completely unaware to be the same grape as the Shiraz, but i must say that of the two labels that i have drank, one being another Pepperwood i have to say it seems to me to be a very different drink from the Shiraz that i have drank in the past. The Pepperwood is becoming quite popular in this household.
I also have turned to tasting some French wines, Bordeaux being the most popular of french wines, and i have to say the taste was what i expected it to be , more complex than my usual drinks but very likable, with a very intense colour and dry taste it was a wine that i have taken my time drinking and enjoying.
In a recent post i tasted a Dona Paula Cabernet Franc, to which the results were greatly approved by Thud ,this lead me to look further into the label and i found a Malbec. This grape i had not tasted before and so gave me another reason to purchase a bottle to consume at a later date.
And finally the Zin Challenge, well this has been hard to find at present and the only decent contender has been the Pepperwood, so this has lead me to start looking at Primitivo wines, the same grape just produced in southern Italy. I am currently drinking a bottle of Dorio 2003 which is a blend of Primitivo(85%) and Aglianico (15%). This has a deep colour and a distinct aroma that has a similarity to box a liquorice all sorts, strange i know but i kind of like it. The finish is long and pleasant and fruity. The Aglianico gave the acidity. Not sure if its a contender we will have to see.

Pepperwood Grove

ok its been a very slow start to my little task however i have tasted a couple of Zins but unfortunately they have been truly vile. therefore i have stopped looking for these in the local superstore as these bring very bad results and have broaden my suppliers.
this lead me to Pepperwood Grove and what a great find. i left this one untill tonight to open as i bought it earlier in the week. i got it to a good temperature and let it breath for about 20 mins and the result was well worth the wait. it holds a very subtle bouquet of berries as you would expect and with a very deep colour it is very different from the cheap crap i had tried earlier in the week.
the after taste is very pleasent and it reminds me of bonfire night, standing outside by the fire and eating bbq hotdogs. i really do think this is great find and a great wine, very easy drinking and strength wise hold for a nice mid week drink not to heavy.
this i would recommend and as a good start to my task i will really keep this one in mind for my trip to Napa.
bring on the Zin.

The Challenge

family recently returned from the great wine making Napa Valley and brought me back a special bottle of red which i have not opened yet. while talking on tuesday evening my friend J noticed id bought a bottle of Gallo Zinfandel (im currently drinking my way through this at the moment, great bottle), this sparked a conversation into what was a good bottle of zinfandel and i had to say the Gallo as it was the only one i could think of at the time. J went on to say that his sister (a serious wine enthusiast, she made my very special bottle of red) from Napa is always on the look out for a great zinfandel and with myself and my partner planning on going out there this summer it presented a challenge to me.
so im now on the hunt for a great Zin can i find one in th UK that is accessible from the high street or will i have to wait and find one in the cooler hills of California.
although im already a fan of the Gallo im sure that this will not excite my soon to be friend in Napa so i really think that a lot of thought is needed for this task.
so whats the specification? well the Zinfandel needs to be dark and thick in color almost black with a deep berry taste hints of pepper. ideally the wine needs to be served between fridge and room temperature and possibly from california or its native italy, there could be some wines from greece too but we will see what i find along the way.