Hey Zinfandel lovers, I've got two free tickets to ZAP to give away!This is San Francisco's biggest public wine tasting, and one of the biggest in the world -- 250 producers pouring Zinfandel at Fort Mason. The tickets sell for $59 each, so this is a $118 value.
The tasting details:
Fort Mason Center, San FranciscoNow, here are the contest details. It's really simple: Post a comment below describing your best Zinfandel-drinking experience. I'm going to limit the entries to 100 words, and I will be strict about that -- if you post 125 words, even if you break it up into two comments and move me to tears, you will not win.
Saturday, Jan. 30
2 -- 5 p.m. (These are non-member, public entry tickets)
Unlimited wine tasting is free, and you keep the glass.
No real food provided, though there will be free bread and cheese, and usually free coffee (helpful after all that Zin).
Parking not included; limited free parking available nearby (I always find it, but you're on your own). Consider taking public transport. I spit everything I sample and I still usually have to rest in a coffee shop for 2 or 3 hours before driving.
I am NOT RESPONSIBLE for you drinking too much Zinfandel and making a fool of yourself. Use the spit buckets!
More details about ZAP can be found here.
If you prefer to write in Japanese, you are welcome to do so, but because you can say more with fewer characters, I'm going to limit you to 75 words. No other languages accepted, sorry.
I thought I'd try to set an example with my own best Zinfandel experience. This is 96 words:
When I lived in Japan, one year on my birthday I was feeling lonely and homesick. Somebody recommended a California-style fusion restaurant, and though the term is overused today, it sounded just perfect then, because at the time the main American restaurant choices in Tokyo were Denny's and McDonald's. The night was rainy and cold, and the restaurant was in a concrete basement, with bare walls; I felt chilly in body and soul. But they had Ridge Geyserville, an elegant, terroir-driven Zinfandel blend I have always loved. I ordered a bottle and it tasted of home.You don't have to register for anything to enter, but if you're not logged into gmail or blogger to ID yourself, I leave it up to you to let me know some way to identify you if you win.
Deadline for entries is Wednesday, Jan. 20 at midnight Dry Creek Valley time. I will announce the finalists on Friday, Jan. 22. Good luck, and remember: drinking Zinfandel will not actually make you more creative, but it might make you feel like you are, and that's worthwhile too.
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6 comments:
I was at a party at a friend's house quite a few years ago now. Although we were adults, my friend still lived with his father, an avid wine collector. I was looking for a bottle to drink, and my friend said "take anything from the wine fridge on the left, leave the one on the right alone. A few days later, on his father's return, I learned he got the fridges backwards... and I'd drunk two bottles of Zin that retailed for a combined $600. Wow.
I've always been a fan of red wines but Zins are now my favorite. I won a several bottles of Dancing Bull '07 Zin at a charity raffle and didn't expect too much since they retail for less than $15/bottle. It was love at first sip with this fragrant, jammy, lush delight. My love and exploration of Zins has only just begun.
The first serious wine that I purchased and enjoyed was the Rosenblum Zinfandel Richard Sauret Vineyard 2002. I was in the process of getting divorced, living in a hotel room, and wanted some wine to help drown my sorrows. Went to the local BevMo, browsed the shelves, and bought this wine. It was fantastic and started my new "love affair" with Zinfandels. We've been happy together ever since.
Several years ago in SF, I generously agreed to help a wine-writer friend sample old vine zins. Our quest was to find wines with secondary characteristics that are often associated with old vines. We were largely disappointed as wine after wine turned out to be one-dimensional. Perfectly quaffable, but uninteresting. Finally, we found a wine that delivered on the promise. It grew more mysterious over time, changing from juicy red fruit on the nose to deep, robust dark fruit. It had the signature Draper perfume, along with plum, graphite, dark cherries, and perhaps a touch of soy. Ridge Pagani Ranch.
I had my first zin moment when I tasted Wilson (Diane's reserve) 2005. I have tried zinfandel before, but this experience led me to a brief love affair with everything zinfandel.
The first time I met who would later become my father in law, he shared a bottle of Martinelli Jackass Hill Zin with us. I remember clearly because I was new to wine and though Martinelli made sparkling grape juice. That night I sexed up his daughter in their guest room who like the wine, was luscious and full bodied.
We eventually married started our wine cellar and visit Martinelli every year.
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