East Hill Bottle Shop 10 May
So good they sold out! A Lodi California Zin that is just right.
“We’re sold out.” That was the response I got when I went to get a picture for this post of Klinker Brick Vineyards’ Old Vine Zinfandel from 2019.
The human nature of stereotyping is very strong. So when people hear Zinfandel from Lodi they often think of a wine akin to a jar of jam. Those Zinfandels do exist, but so do Lodi Zins that are balanced, deep, and smooth.
It is too easy to say; “All of those wines from xxx taste like xxxx.” Don’t lump wines together, even when one winery is across from the other. The wines can be, and often are, very different.
I had the great opportunity to visit Klinker Brick Vineyards back in February. Check out that post here… Amazing folks, and the only reason that I didn’t buy their Old Vine Zin while I was there was because I could find it here, back home.
So it was no surprise that they sold out! The wine is just plain good, a great drinking wine, and an even better wine to take to a party! It goes great with the random variety of foods that seem to collect at the neighbors’ weekend party.
And never forget the two most important rules in Wine: Never serve hot wine and always bring a wine that you like! Can’t go wrong with this one.
“Sunsets on Main”
So Gourmet has returned to the weekly wine tasting scene with their “Sun sets on Main.”
Downtown Pensacola has some amazing spots to eat and drink! One of the original downtown wine tastings recently returned to our calendar. “Sunsets on Main” by So Gourmet (the upstairs of Bodacious Brew & Olive) offers 4-5 wines, Free, on Wednesday evenings.This week’s tasting featured a wine easy to overlook yet so unique; Mettler Vineyards Estate grown Albariño, from Lodi California.Lodi still does not have the name recognition that the likes of Napa, Sonoma, or even Paso Robles have, especially for a WHITE WINE! Yet to the wine enthusiast Lodi is never over looked!The Albariño grape is native to northern Portugal and Spain, where some magical expressions of the wine can be found. That area is extremely rocky, mountainous, and has large temperature variations. Lodi could not be more different; flat, segmentary soil, and lacking big temperature swings but with very hot summers. This is why Lodi is known for world class BIG Zinfandels.So what happens when you bring this northern Iberian grape down to the Central Valley of California? A basket of crisp apple, ripe pear, and melon, with hints of citrus and a touch of mineral acid.What a surprise! A great wine for our quickly approaching summer and pairs great with my Red Snapper tacos. Unique, all of the tasters liked it, can be had alone or with dinner; that equals a Wine of Note!