Live 24-Seven -Wining & Dining
Patricia Terry stepping into autumn…
Good Heavens! September already! I read recently a small snippet somewhere about there being only 20 odd Fridays until Christmas. I could, of course, check the accuracy of this statement but I have no desire to…we are only just heading into autumn, so let’s leave Christmas where it belongs…in December!
Patricia Terry of Patricia Terry Wine has, according to several industry experts, one of the finest noses in the country, her list of quality clients is absolute proof of this.
We are delighted she is writing for Live 24-Seven; wonderful
comments received regarding her features hint that you appreciate and enjoy Trish’s style…
This month I’ve decided to look at Zinfandel (confirmed by – almost – all to be the Italian Primativo), a grape that periodically comes into style and then goes out of fashion. A wine often not typically asked for but when tried, many are often impressed. Zinfandel shows two styles – one from warm, inland regions, the other from cool-to-warm regions, where the vines experience some maritime influence. The former tends to be higher in alcohol, the latter a little more elegant. In fairness, neither style is ‘better’. As always, it is simply a matter of taste. To illustrate this, it is perhaps easier to work our way through the different regions, and so…
Napa Valley For many, the Napa Valley produces
California’s best
Zinfandels.The Valley benefits from being between the cold Pacific and California’s very hot Central Valley. Napa’s heat here is greater than Dry Creek Valley but not as intense as Lodi’s and so ripens grapes easily and the cool night-time temperatures help the grapes to retain
acidity.The hillside influence also results in smaller berries and more concentrated wines. Many of the vines here are 100 plus years old and in addition to Zinfandel, many of the vineyards grow Carignane, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet… and anything else that the Italian-American immigrants originally planted…small amounts of which are often added to the wine, which results in wines showing a huge range of nuances. Vines that are at least 40-50 years old, vineyard location, volcanic soils and dry farming leads to wines that are by many, considered world class. Ahh…almost forgot… money! It takes a lot of money to produce good wines and Napa Valley has a lot of money! Wines to seek out are Black Stallion, D-Cubed Cellars, Frog’s Leap and Storybook Mountain.
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Dry Creek Valley Raspberry, strawberry-ish, low tannins, highly
aromatic are words often used to describe wines from this region. Zinfandel’s problem (acknowledged by all) is its tendency to uneven ripeness at harvest. Green berries sit next to perfectly ripe berries, which both grow alongside berries that are practically shrivelled raisins – all this on a single bunch – which, you can imagine, makes harvest time problematic. Oddly, though, this becomes less of an issue the older the vine – no one is sure why. The best Dry Creek Zinfandels come from the benches and hills, not from the valley floor and in particular from the slopes on the east side. As with all Zinfandels, those from this region do not respond well to new oak and it is used sparingly. A good Zin’s natural tannins have no need of the additional wood tannins extracted from new barrels. Wines to try are Bella, Maple Vineyards, Quivera, Ravenswood and Ridge.
Russian River Valley Relatively speaking (compared to other
regions), Russian River is a ‘cool’ climate. The Zinfandels here tend to be lower in alcohol and higher in acidity. One of the best areas is Olivet-Piner, south of River Road. This is also prime Pinot Noir territory. There is maritime influence from the Petaluma Gap which is, in turn, cooled by cold air from San Francisco/ San Pablo Bay. Harvest here is late, often not until November, which means these wines are very much vintage-dependent. When the vintage is good, however, the grapes achieve perfect ripeness without the dried-out berries which can make over-ripe Zinfandel bitter and pruney. Russian River wines age exceptionally well and many are not released for sale for three to four years. Top wines from here are Papera Vineyard, River Road,Ravenswood and Carlise.
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