Brian's Cryin's III

Though this is primarily a tasting of cheap Zin purchased at Trader Joe’s, I’ve added a Sicilian Pinot Grigio blend simply to add some context to the over priced wines selected by the AWS directors for our National Tasting Project. In case you wondered, good Sicilian wine is not expensive (see NTP August 12, 2022).

We went to Trader Joe’s prior to the OZ tasting (see September 13, 2022) to find the cheapest single appellation Zinfandel in Ann Arbor. We did bring one of them to OZ which I’ll add to the notes below but also bought five others that Alice and I just tasted. We invited my sister, Linda, and brother in law, George, to watch football and give me their opinions on the Zins. I always like to get feedback from my sister who doesn’t normally drink red wine. Her perspective is often worth noting.

Before I get started with the Zins, I also want to mention here a Sicilian blend of Catarratto and Pinot Grigio that I had intended to pour at our Sicilian National Tasting Project but decided not to include because it just seemed that we had more wine than tasters and too much can be too much turning an enjoyable evening into a long slog. So, Alice and I enjoyed it with the head-on shrimp (see September 21, 2022) and as wonderful as the shrimp tasted, I’ll have to say, we both were even more surprised at just how good the wine paired. 2021 Purato Organic Catarratto 60% / Pinot Grigio 40%, Terre Siciliane IGT ITALY (12.5% abv) $13 at Whole Foods was one of the best Pinot Grigio wines, blended or straight, that I’ve ever enjoyed. Yes, $13 is a lot for this type of wine, but, compared to the wines we tasted at the NTP (see blog posted Aug 13, 2022), $13 is certainly not over the top. Nearly water white in appearance, I was expecting nothing more than a fresh quaff. But, as soon as my nose entered the glass, I could sense that this was something more. Though not the least bit veggie, the beautiful ample yellow fruit essence possesses a green-leaf-like nuance in the aroma reinforcing the freshness and adding an anticipated bitter edge expanding the possibilities. As soon as I tasted it, the overriding thought was “tasted on the spot”. I’m sure those of you who have visited wine country both in the US and abroad have noticed that often a wine tasted in its native surroundings shows an additional level of scent and texture that doesn’t often travel. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve tasted wines in our travels and once home, the wines are still good but never measure up to our memory of how they tasted on the spot. I’ve never tasted this wine in Sicily, but, it certainly travels well. Though brilliantly fresh, the acid balance is so round and mouth coating that it is almost creamy. Not in the oak sense, not buttery, but rich and long on the palate with just a touch of bitter to make it very food friendly even with very flavorful shrimp. This is a GOLD MEDAL wine all the way.

Back to Zinfandel. Below are five other Zins that we did not bring to OZ in the order that we tasted them..

2021 Grifone Primitivo (old vine Zinfandel), Puglia IGT ITALY (13% abv) $4.99 at Trader Joe’s has good color and an engagingly rich bouquet of black fruit and wine marinated red olives. The palate reinforces that olivy richness even more. This is the simplest of simple everyday Italian table wine, but thoroughly enjoyable by itself or with food. It reminds me of the free wine we got at every meal while vacationing in Southern Spain where it was cheaper than bottled water. To give it a BRONZE probably doesn’t do it justice, but, that’s what a good but not memorable wine gets on my score card. After being open for 24 hours, it seemed brighter with more fresh grape scents. What a great table wine. 2020 Epicuro Primitivo, Puglia IGP ITALY (14% abv) $6.99 at Trader Joe’s is much darker than the Grifone and as one might expect from higher alcohol grapes; presumably both riper and cropped at a lower yield*. Though not really any bigger than the Grifone, there is more of a black fruit impression on the nose and and a MUCH deeper, riper, fatter fruit essence and texture especially the way it finishes and stays. Though I’ll give it a SILVER, it isn’t quite the deal it was a couple of months ago when this wine was $5.99. 2020 Trader Joe’s Coastal Zinfandel, Central Coast CA (14.1% abv) $4.99 at Trader Joe’s looks the same in the glass as the Italian Grifone which is the same price. However, the ripe fruit harvested along the cool coast has that unmistakable California sun aroma. This is not a big wine by any means, like the Grifone, it is as simple as simple gets but it has perfect balance and enough fruit texture to make it interesting with a slight uptick as it melts away. No, not quite a silver but a solid BRONZE as a very pleasant meal time partner. 24 hours later, George felt that it had an “industrial” aftertaste. Doesn’t sound good to me, but, it did feel it had more earth, leather and tobacco than it did when freshly open. I liked it even better. 2020 ASV Wines Trader Joe’s Grower’s Reserve Zinfandel, Paso Robles CA (13.5% abv) $5.49 at Trader Joe’s is the cheapest single appellation California wine I could find in Ann Arbor. This is not a big monster Zin, but, it does have a very typical fully ripe fruit nose with good body, structure and pleasant dried spice earth nuance that carries into the surprisingly well packed finish . When I say I prefer inexpensive mass produced wine, I’m not kidding! Looks like a few others agree. My score 16/20 SILVER, initial table score 16.9/20 (this wine was not part of our tasting on 9/23/2020, this is my notes from OZ the previous week) 2020 Old Moon Old Vine Zinfandel, Lodi CA (14.4% abv) $5.99 at Trader Joe’s with its inky black red robe is still a bit closed and not terribly aromatic. In spite of that, the flavor and texture offer up ample bright liqueur-like black cherry flavors and a floral component not appreciated with just a sniff that carries to the relatively long finish. Again, it probably deserves better, but, I’ll stick with BRONZE simply on the basis of the nose or lack thereof. Bronze is probably too low. George like the rich fruit essence and Alice felt it was maybe the classiest of the bunch. 2020 Cline Old Vine Zinfandel, Lodi CA (14.5% abv) $8.99 at Trader Joe’s with good color and a big ripe nose that is both rich and refined at the same time entices one to plunge in. On the palate, again, very ripe plum and berry flavors amp up as does fresh acidity that carries the clean stimulating texture through the finish. As good as this is, I’ve had better from Cline in previous vintages. Don’t get me wrong, it is solid SILVER on my score card, but, quite honestly, I had expected gold. Everyone liked the vinuous character and the round developed composition. In other words, yummy.

Enjoy in Good Health,

Brian Cain, the Michigan Vintner

*Wine drinkers often ask me why the AOC, IGT, and DOC laws make such a big deal about potential alcohol content. Most people could care less if a wine is 13% or 14% alcohol. It matters because it takes as much as a week to gain 1 brix or percent of sugar in the grapes during the ripening season. A wine that is 1% higher in alcohol (2 brix for the grapes ) might have stayed on the vine a couple of weeks later in the season which makes a big difference in color, aroma, flavor and texture. Also, grapes that are over cropped often never get to that point no matter how long they hang on the vine, so, concentration of color, aroma, flavor and texture is also reinforced making the wine seem bigger with even 1% more alcohol.