zinfest
we did the lodi zinfest last weekend. we didn't get into town until 3am and realized we were at the same hotel we stayed at last year. the shower sucked, the tub didn't drain, and the a/c wasn't all that great. mental note = don't stay in the lodi comfort inn next time b/c the motel 6 down the street may be better.
we arrived early to the lake on saturday, and this year, i wanted to make sure i bought a wine corset for my glass so i could have my hands free. shelbyg went a little crazy that afternoon and bought a few more for our future wine parties.
wines of note:
gnarly head and brazin are both delicato, but both worthy (gnarly head has come a long way) of quality. the zins by both are great everyday drinkers.
same goes for the barefoot lodi zin. it's a bevmo for $7.
cannot say enough about bokisch, bokisch, bokisch. can't find them down here sadly, but every wine by them is fantabulous (and none are zins).
always go w/ the jessie's grove vintner's choice. they mass produce earth, zin, & fire, but the vintner's choice is a better zin.
st. jorge's zins were the best of their bunch.
oak ridge ozv and maggio stood out, but we've been ozv fans for years now.
century oak's reserve zin was better than their ovz.
van ruiten floored us with their $50 explozin. damn them. we settled for the much cheaper glory day zin, and their zinfandela was a sweet rose style wine that shelby thought was too sweet, but i know some of our friends dig that sugar.
i thoroughly enjoyed the dancing fox's rumplestiltzin, but i probably wouldn't have bought it at its price if it wasn't one of the few avail left at the zinfest shop. they were also selling their baked goods, so we had the op to enjoy a large cookie and fudge-topped brownie to soak up some of the alcohol.
scotto was new to the zinfest game. their howling moon and regio zins are great everydays.
i fell in love w/ peirano's tempranillo, prompting us to go to their winery on sunday since they didn't have it for sale at the fest. "the other" red and white blends are fantastic table wines, red shorts is another tasty blend, and well, we didn't leave there unsatisfied.
another must stop on sunday was peltier station. we have affectionately dubbed this winery the "rose and spencer of lodi" much like four vines is the "rose and spencer of paso." i cannot tell you how ridiculously smooth, earthy, rich, and glorious these bad boys tasted. we went for the hybrid to open at our summer wines party since they were selling them at practically half price on sunday. i think this winery will haunt me.
vicarmont and woodbridge are consistently good winemakers. thankfully vicarmont had a couple of summer wines for our future event.
shelby enjoyed m2 while i chatted up the winemaker at oak ridge.
we kind of skipped the old regulars (stama, watts) b/c we picked up quite a few bottles from them back at the wine and chocolate fest in feb. foodwise, we also enjoyed alebrijes burritas, and papapavlo's chicken and gyro pitas. the one cooking event we attended featured a vino con brio matzin that tasted better as it breathed, but we were less than impressed w/ the sweet bbq sauce on pig's ears.
water was complimentary this year which was awesome, and they had the artist who creates the wine art for the event there to sign posters. if we had known, we would've brought ours with us. we spoke w/ him and the author of a lodi wine book for a bit about the state of things. we had a similar convo w/ the oak ridge owners. there were even a few random conversations w/ fellow winos about politics and such. everyone is so very friendly up there. always reminds me of back home. it never ceases to amaze me how many are surprised we travelled from los angeles to attend. our answer is always the same, "great wine for a great price."
we arrived early to the lake on saturday, and this year, i wanted to make sure i bought a wine corset for my glass so i could have my hands free. shelbyg went a little crazy that afternoon and bought a few more for our future wine parties.
wines of note:
gnarly head and brazin are both delicato, but both worthy (gnarly head has come a long way) of quality. the zins by both are great everyday drinkers.
same goes for the barefoot lodi zin. it's a bevmo for $7.
cannot say enough about bokisch, bokisch, bokisch. can't find them down here sadly, but every wine by them is fantabulous (and none are zins).
always go w/ the jessie's grove vintner's choice. they mass produce earth, zin, & fire, but the vintner's choice is a better zin.
st. jorge's zins were the best of their bunch.
oak ridge ozv and maggio stood out, but we've been ozv fans for years now.
century oak's reserve zin was better than their ovz.
van ruiten floored us with their $50 explozin. damn them. we settled for the much cheaper glory day zin, and their zinfandela was a sweet rose style wine that shelby thought was too sweet, but i know some of our friends dig that sugar.
i thoroughly enjoyed the dancing fox's rumplestiltzin, but i probably wouldn't have bought it at its price if it wasn't one of the few avail left at the zinfest shop. they were also selling their baked goods, so we had the op to enjoy a large cookie and fudge-topped brownie to soak up some of the alcohol.
scotto was new to the zinfest game. their howling moon and regio zins are great everydays.
i fell in love w/ peirano's tempranillo, prompting us to go to their winery on sunday since they didn't have it for sale at the fest. "the other" red and white blends are fantastic table wines, red shorts is another tasty blend, and well, we didn't leave there unsatisfied.
another must stop on sunday was peltier station. we have affectionately dubbed this winery the "rose and spencer of lodi" much like four vines is the "rose and spencer of paso." i cannot tell you how ridiculously smooth, earthy, rich, and glorious these bad boys tasted. we went for the hybrid to open at our summer wines party since they were selling them at practically half price on sunday. i think this winery will haunt me.
vicarmont and woodbridge are consistently good winemakers. thankfully vicarmont had a couple of summer wines for our future event.
shelby enjoyed m2 while i chatted up the winemaker at oak ridge.
we kind of skipped the old regulars (stama, watts) b/c we picked up quite a few bottles from them back at the wine and chocolate fest in feb. foodwise, we also enjoyed alebrijes burritas, and papapavlo's chicken and gyro pitas. the one cooking event we attended featured a vino con brio matzin that tasted better as it breathed, but we were less than impressed w/ the sweet bbq sauce on pig's ears.
water was complimentary this year which was awesome, and they had the artist who creates the wine art for the event there to sign posters. if we had known, we would've brought ours with us. we spoke w/ him and the author of a lodi wine book for a bit about the state of things. we had a similar convo w/ the oak ridge owners. there were even a few random conversations w/ fellow winos about politics and such. everyone is so very friendly up there. always reminds me of back home. it never ceases to amaze me how many are surprised we travelled from los angeles to attend. our answer is always the same, "great wine for a great price."