PRESS
Press Democrat - Wine of the Week
07/23/2010
“Our
Wine of the Week, Dashe Cellars Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel ($24), is a perfect
example of why Dry Creek Valley has gained a reputation as perhaps the best
place for California’s signature grape…The prettiness of the wine evokes its
place, and by prettiness I mean a softness on the palate, silky tannins and
bright lively acid. Combined with classic varietal flavors, the wine’s feel in
the mouth is all sensual delight.”
Click
here to see the full article, including a recipe for flank steak with zinfandel
vinaigrette.
TheKitchn.com
07/01/2010
Made in the USA: Wines for July 4th Celebrations
• 2008 Dashe Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma $24 – on the lighter side, it shows some attractive bramble, damson and dried fruit aromas and flavors with notes of clove and sweet spice. Medium bodied, it is fruity and easy-drinking. Very versatile, to be enjoyed on its own or with food.
To read the entire article click here
TheKitchn.com
07/01/2010
Made in the USA: Wines for July 4th Celebrations
• 2007 Dashe Zinfandel, Louvau Vineyard Old Vines, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma, $32 – Creamy blackberry, mocha and black peppery aromas draw you in. Intense and ripe but fresh the flavors are a compote of forest fruits interwoven with baking spice and vanilla. Round smooth texture with supple tannins. Quite warm but balanced.
To read the entire article click here
San Francisco Magazine
07/01/2010
The Concrete Vineyard
Urban Winemakers are pouring into the East Bay
by Jordan Mackay
Photograph by Emily Polar
When Crushpad, the Bay Area’s DIY winery, decided this past spring to exchange the gray streets of Dogpatch for the verdant hillsides of Napa, it seemed like a serious blow. After all, Crushpad helped dozens of small winemakers, both commercial and amateur, make 700 barrels (around 17,500 cases) of juice last year. But despite the departure, accessible urban winemaking is actually more robust than ever. For proof, look no further than the East Bay Vintner’s Alliance, an association of 21 producers stretching from the northern reaches of Berkeley down through Oakland and into Alameda....
To read more click here
Chicago Tribune
06/30/2010
Zin-ful toast to 4th of July
Sonoma wine will add spark to your Independence Day party
Bill Daley
June 30, 2010
July Fourth: Rockets will scream
through the darkening sky, sparklers will sputter and cherry bombs will pop in
backyards all across the United States. Why not also celebrate Independence Day
with a firecracker of a wine, a zinfandel from California's Sonoma
County?
The pairing is doubly fitting. Not only has this imported grape produced what
is generally agreed to be the most all-American of wines — perfect for this
American holiday — but Sonoma
County's history of zin production extends back past Prohibition into the 19th century.
About 1,000 acres of gnarly, twisting vines thought to be 50, 80 even 100 years
old are treated by the local wine world with the reverence the general public
reserves for the county's redwood forests.
Pinot noir is the most widely grown red wine grape in Sonoma, according to 2008
figures from the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission, a trade group. Zinfandel
ranks only fourth among red wine grapes in terms of acres planted, but there's
a special link between the wine and the region.
"There was a belief we held for a long time that
zinfandel was native to California," said John Ash, the Sonoma-based
restaurateur, author and winemaker. That premise turned out to be false;
zinfandel descends from a Croatian grape. Still, there's a tie.
"It has special status," Ash said. "It is still our own in many
ways."
Ash said many California wine regions make great zinfandel, but "Sonoma
seems to be its place. Like many grape varieties, it's terroir." Terroir
is a French term that denotes a sense of place.
"It has such interesting flavor notes to it when really done well that
don't exist in other wines. There's that wonderful pepperiness," he added.
"This time of year, especially, it serves as such a wonderful bridge to
the grill."
Zinfandel, he said, doesn't have the profile of wines like cabernet sauvignon,
merlot and pinot noir. People have heard of it, yes, but they're not exposed to
it as often.
"It's still a discovery grape," Ash said. "It could have a
bigger profile on wine lists."
Tasting Sonoma's zins
California's Sonoma County is a large region and, like many other wine areas,
it has a number of subregions or American Viticultural Areas (AVA). Dry Creek
Valley in north-central Sonoma is particularly noted for zinfandel; the two
examples we tasted scored the best. Some of the zins we sampled are labeled as
"old vines." There's no legal definition for the term, but it's
generally understood to mean the grapes are of higher quality because they come
from mature vines with low crop yields.
2007 Francis Ford Coppola
Director's Cut, Dry Creek Valley: The famed filmmaker has a smash hit with
this lively, classic zin. Colored a deep ruby red and sporting a fruity nose
warmed by wood and spice, the wine is bright, balanced, a bit earthy and loaded
with vivid black fruit. Good finish. Serve with fried chicken, New York strip
steak, cheeseburgers. $21
2008 Ridge East Bench Dry Creek Valley: Subtle, almost elegant, with a
soft berry fragrance and a flavor profile of tea, wood, cassis, tobacco and
black earth. Serve with sausage and peppers, grilled lamb chops. $27
2007 St. Francis Sonoma Old Vines: Tied for third place with the Dashe,
this zinfandel has a voluptuous mouth feel and an equally mouth-filling berry
flavor. This is no fruit bomb, however; there are touches of wood, chocolate
and incense. Serve with barbecued ribs, grilled pork tenderloin. $22
2007 Dashe Todd Brothers Ranch, Alexander Valley Old Vines:
Tied with St. Francis for third, this inky wine offers a complex nose of earth,
cassia bark, black pepper and mushrooms. The flavor is rich and slightly sweet,
with notes of black pepper and chocolate. Serve with glazed spareribs, grilled
duck, ham. $32
2007 Murphy-Goode Liar's Dice, Sonoma: Purply red, with a spicy cinnamon
nose, this wine has a sweet cherry flavor spiked with a sprig of mint. Not a
lot of tannins, but the structure is there. Serve with grilled chicken,
Korean-style short ribs. $21
2007 Kenwood Jack London Vineyard, Sonoma:
Robust but still elegant, with black cherry, cassis and black pepper flavors.
The nose is pleasantly spicy. Serve with pork belly, leg of lamb, brisket. $20
— B. D.
By the numbers
62-67 Degrees considered optimal serving temperature for zinfandel
5,401 Acres of zinfandel vines in Sonoma County
1852 Year zinfandel grapes imported into California
Sources: Sonoma County Winegrape Commission; "The New Wine Lover's
Companion"
The roots of zinfandel
Like many an immigrant to the United States, the zinfandel grape has
hard-to-find roots.
Zinfandel is a cousin of primitivo, a grape grown in Puglia, which is the
"heel" of the Italian boot, according to "The New Wine Lover's
Companion." DNA testing in 2001 confirmed both grape varieties descend
from a little-known Croatian grape called Crljenak Kastelanski.
California is the major production center for zinfandel, which was first
planted there in the 1850s.
