OK it was Zinfandel's turn at our wine tasting at work... I love zin, and we enjoyed these two in the tasting, but they were not my ideal zins...
1) Cardinal Zin, 2005 (California) - I wanted a big bold old vine Zinfandel for the taste testing so during lunch break I popped into Supreme Liquors in Central Square Cambridge to pick one out. This was $22, I'd heard of it and seen it listed on value/quality lists, and it has a funky fun label. Well, we tried it, everyone liked it, I did too, but I've definitely had bigger and bolder zins. Plus I looked on the net and this can be found for around $17 so I think I got ripped off for about $5 on it at that store (others I've bought at that store later turned out to be over market price too). So, since it wasn't quite as "beastly" as the label says, and it's priced slightly higher than I think it deserves, I'm just giving this a 5 out of 10 for low average. I'd much rather have an Amador Foothill or Monkey Business zin.
2) Meeker, Fro Zin, Zinfandel, 2003 (Mendocino County, California) - We all had very high hopes for this. Zinfandel is very big bold and sweet anyway, and this wine had the added advantage that it's a faux ice wine, meaning they harvest the grapes as normal but then the freeze them to lock in flavor and remove excess water. Logically it should be an intensely sweet ice-wine-like dessert wine. Well, we popped it, gave a taste, and yeah it's very sweet and very nice grape juice, but it's quite a lot like your average inexpensive kosher sweet wine. In a blind taste test I'm not sure we could pick out which was the nicer wine. Meanwhile Fro Zin was $22ish for a half bottle and Manischewitz is $5 or less for a full sized bottle. Frankly Fro Zin just isn't worth it. Just 5 out of 10 for low average.
3) Washington Hills, Gewurztraminer, 2006 (Washington) - Wow, I really liked this - both the grape and the brand. This was my first gewurztraminer and I'd describe it as floral like roses and exotic like Turkish delight, which coincidentally is pretty much what the wine books say it will taste like. Good good stuff. 7 out of 10 for above average. I think this is the start of a special relationship between myself and gewurtzy.
