From the New York Times. Zinfandel is my wine of choice.July 4, 2007
The Pour
A Wine So Big It’s Hard to Hug
By ERIC ASIMOV
I LIKE to think I’m as patriotic as the next guy, but I’ve got a problem I’m trying to confront. It’s zinfandel.
No other wine is as entwined as zinfandel with all things American. When the experts recommend a wine for the Fourth of July, for Thanksgiving or simply to dress up in red, white and blue and march down Main Street, they pick zinfandel. It makes perfect sense, symbolically at least. Even if the grape is of European origin, almost all the zinfandel in the world is produced in California.
My problem is, I’m never all that pleased about drinking zinfandel. Left to my own devices I probably wouldn’t reach for it. It’s not that I consciously dislike zin, but I’ve somehow banished it from the universe of wines that I can’t wait to open up. And that bothers me.
If anything, the zinfandel grape is an underdog thoroughly worthy of admiration. Grapes like cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir and chardonnay are aristocrats by comparison, with regal European forebears.
But zinfandel arrived, unheralded, by steerage, an advantage only in that it was never overshadowed by Old World antecedents like Bordeaux or Burgundy. Nobody even knew where zinfandel came from until genetic research in the 1990s revealed it to be of Croatian origin. I should like this wine!
I decided to examine my relationship with zinfandel. The No. 1 problem, in my mind, was its size. It is a big, rambunctious sort of wine. Over the last decade it’s gotten bigger and fruitier, with alcohol levels frequently topping 16 percent and gobs of fruit flavors that reverberate around the mouth.
What kind of food would you eat with this wine? It’s not a problem limited to zinfandel. Amarone is another big, powerful wine that I admire but for which I find little use.
Then I recalled an article in Wine Spectator a few months back in which Thomas Keller of the French Laundry in the Napa Valley and Per Se in New York said his favorite wine was zinfandel. What on earth does Mr. Keller, whose cuisine is so refined and focused, do with zinfandel?
“I’m very elementary,” Mr. Keller told me. “I usually drink the wine that I want to drink with the food I want to eat.”
That’s great, chef. You’ve just put the whole wine-and-food pairings industry out of business. That’s not such a bad idea, given the laughably demanding nature of many of those combinations. Actually, Mr. Keller offered the perfect strategy to deal with my zinfandel hang-up. Stop being so analytical, and just drink it.
Of course, that’s far easier said than done. Wine, and zinfandel more so than most, has a romantic element to it that can clutter the mind. That’s because the best zinfandels tend to come from vineyards sometimes more than a century old, full of thick, gnarled, woody vines that seem to defy time and the elements. They bear fewer grapes, but the juice is more concentrated, and the wines seem to tell stories. Not red, white and blue fables of triumphalism but tales of immigrant vision and perseverance, of American history and the pastoral roots of a great industry.
I set forth for a few days of zinfandel drinking. I do in fact have a favorite zinfandel. It comes from A. Rafanelli in the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County, and I have a reason for never drinking it: it’s not sold at retail shops, and you have to be on a mailing list to get it, which I’m not. But the 2004 Rafanelli is on the list at the Tasting Room in NoLIta. The restaurant also had another zinfandel that I’ve liked, a 2002 from Sky Vineyards on Mount Veeder in Napa Valley.
The two wines could not have been more different. The Sky was surprisingly pale and small-framed, that rare zinfandel under 14 percent alcohol. While it was bright and earthy, it was maybe too small for a zinfandel.
It seemed insubstantial next to the Rafanelli, which was very dark and unexpectedly polished at first and maybe even a little oaky. But with a little air the characteristic berry fruit and pepper flavors cut loose, though in a controlled fashion. With a tender pork rib roast, it was delicious.
But what about a less familiar combination? I had been craving Mexican food, so I decided on a stewed chicken served in a mole pipián, a tangy sauce made with pumpkinseeds and tomatillos. I wrapped a bite of chicken and sauce in a soft corn tortilla with some rice and beans, and I was eating what I wanted to eat, but what to drink?
Again, I had two contrasting zinfandels. The first was another Dry Creek Valley, a 2004 Nalle, which is on the lighter side, like the Sky, but with more complexity, the berry flavor tempered by tar, pepper and eucalyptus. It was delicious with the chicken.
Then, a 2004 Turley from the Dusi Vineyard in Paso Robles. Turley is the nitro-burning funny car of the zinfandel world, more powerful than most others, and this was no exception. I found remarkably dense, almost sweet flavors of cherry and raspberry, but missed the peppery bite I find in many other zins. This one wasn’t compelling, at least not with this food.
For almost a week I stayed on the zinfandel trail. I found myself drawn to the more restrained versions, like a 2004 Ravenswood from the Teldeschi Vineyard in the Dry Creek Valley, which went really well with a Thai chicken curry. The fruit stood up to the sweetness of the coconut milk without being deadened by the chili spice. The brightness of a 2004 Ridge Geyserville likewise was more than a good match for smoky dry-rub ribs.
Even so, one of my favorite zinfandels was one of the biggest I tried, a 2004 Outpost from Howell Mountain on the east side of the Napa Valley. Its flavors of wild berry, clove and cinnamon were delicious with Cantonese roasted duck, and not overwhelmed by its 16.2 percent alcohol.
But that gave me pause. I like to drink, not sip, and it’s hard to consume much when a wine has that much alcohol. That’s especially true in the summer, and even if zinfandel is a good match for grilled meats it’s hard to drink it in hot weather. The combination seems like a recipe for an instant headache.
Nonetheless, I do plan to restore zinfandel to an occasional place on my table. Unlike cabernet sauvignons and pinot noirs, which seem clumsy and heavy-handed when they get too big, zinfandels have big bones that can bear the weight. I found Mr. Keller’s advice valuable, at least to a point — people don’t drink much zin in his high-end restaurants.
And I did learn a lesson about drinking zinfandel in hot weather: the wine goes exceptionally well with an air-conditioned room. Some of my European friends would say you can’t get more American than that.
Her lovely home and gardens provided the perfect backdrop to intelligent conversation, good food and hearty wine.
The summer season is here.
The Long Beach guys picked up the tent last week. I have been busy with a project related to my upcoming 35th High School reunion. It finally went to press... a memory book- like a HUGE scrapbook! This is the view from my office.
It's been about 1-1/2 weeks since I updated. I made a quick trip into Portland the week before last to drop Brett at the airport and stopped to see Madison at his new loft.
In Ilwaco. The top photo is taken from up up in the tree house. I still can't believe we climbed it! We received a nice tour from the 'fairy lady'.
Across from the Maritime Museum on the Columbia River... the Bowpicker serves up fish & chips. 
A year or 2 ago, the original boat had a fire - so this is actually a replacement. (same bowpicker style) After ordering, you help yourself to a beverage out of the cooler and find a shady spot on the ground to enjoy the view of the Museum and the Columbia.
Down from Aura's new Seattle location... University Village is always so pretty. The Confectionary Store had a cute patriotic window. 
Lisa from the Chinook Nation Council took some great photos of the First Salmon Ceremony which she was allowed to share with me. I was very honored to be a guest. This is only the second year they have invited distinguished non-tribe members to observe. 
Portland is Elephant crazy. Here in the Pearl- at Boyd's Coffee- they even have stuffed Elephants decorating the tables. (note, the Portland Zoo is famous for their Elephant breeding program)
