This is my 3rd annual “Birth Year” case blog post. This post can serve as a guide for readers who had children born in the year of 2011. My 2009 list and 2010 list were published around this time in the preceding years. 2011 was a challenging year in many regions known for the longevity of their wines including both…
Zinfandel of the Month is a new feature on Zinfandel Chronicles. For a little background please see the first installment published six months ago. Keep in mind that although the Zinfandel of the Month might be an older bottle, the current vintage will be one you can find at retail or via the mailing list. The April Zinfandel of the…
Ridge Vineyards was founded in 1959 when three Stanford Research Institute engineers bought an abandoned winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The vineyards had been planted in the late 19th century by a San Francisco physician who produced his first vintage in the original winery, called Monte Bello, in 1892. The first Ridge vintage was in 1962. Since 1969 Ridge’s…
The 2001 Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel (in magnum) was the leading vote getter in the October Installment of Pick My Next Bottle. The wine was opened and served immediately with pizza from a Zeeks, a West Seattle favorite. This bottle was featured at a Zinfandel tasting that also included Zins from Turley, Carlisle, Seghesio and Frogs Leap. When I first…
When I first became interested in Zinfandel the buzz was always around the Three R’s of Zinfandel: Ravenswood, Rosenblum and Ridge. 20 years later Ridge is still at the top of its game, turning out single vineyard Zinfandel from some of California’s most precious vineyards. Lytton Springs Vineyard dates back to the early 1900’s and is located in the Dry…
Since I launched Zinfandel Chronicles in June I’ve written about some of my favorite Zins from the likes of Turley, Carlisle, Bedrock, Outpost, Brown, Black Sears and Williams Selyem. All of these wines are hard to come by as they are sold primarily through mailing lists, and even then the top bottlings from these producers regularly reach the $50 price…
My brother started buying and cellaring wine a decade after I did and has since amassed about 800 bottles of mostly California wine. He recently lamented that his collection was deep in Pinot Noir but lacking in Cabernet Sauvignon. He was wondering which Napa Cabs I suggest he look into. This got me to thinking: Many of the wines you…
When I first became interested in Zinfandel the buzz was always around the Three R’s of Zinfandel: Ravenswood, Rosenblum and Ridge. 20 years later Ridge is still at the top of its game, turning out single vineyard Zinfandel from some of California’s most precious vineyards.