Latest Wine Spectator Inspires BBQ Dinner Party and Wine Pairing

Admittedly, we’ve got a thing for magazines. Not only are we hoarders, but we also subscribe, borrow, and impulse purchase while in line at the grocery store (there, we said it).

What are we currently reading? Well, I nearly fell over yesterday when I laid eyes on the newest issue of Wine Spectator. Cover reads:

“Zinfandel: Bold Flavors, Great Values, More Than 375 Rated, Plus, A Delicious Matching Menu.”

Um, can you say: “yes, yes, yes, and yes” !?!?! The mag was quickly placed in the basket and put on hold until it could be devoured properly. Pair that with a bottle of Murphy-Goode’s Wild Card Alexander Valley Claret 2003 that I found on sale no less—(have I mentioned yet what a great day I’m having?!?), and I’m on cloud nine after my trip through the checkout line. Fast forward two hours later and I am bursting at the seams with excitement and tracking down Beloved Sister for a video conference STAT. Not only does one of the articles on zinfandel mention a few bottles in my collection (namely The Prisoner 2007 from Orin Swift and Murphy-Goode’s Sonoma County Liar’s Dice 2006) but this line, “…California across the board is producing its best Zinfandels ever,” gave me chills.

Allow me to back up: We were taken aback with Mr. David Ready Jr. when he announced that he proudly chose zinfandel as the wine he wanted to pursue back in 1997. His reasoning? Because it’s the hardest wine to make. Hailing from the PNW (that’s Pacific NW for all you East Coasters/Mid Westerners out there) where pinots reign supreme, we know that zinfandels are arguably tied with pinots as hardest wine to make. When we found out that this was David’s reasoning for making zinfandels “his” wine, we couldn’t help but swoon. One cannot help but give a nod to the man, in this case, David, who wants to take on Goliath, in this case zinfandels. To see his efforts being rewarded by a plug from Wine Spectator literally made us proud (however weird that may seem).

According to the article, 2006 was a fine year for California Zinfandels and the NYR (not yet released) 2007 bottles look promising. With an ideal growing season, the California Zinfandel vintages produced in ’07 should be supple and elegantly ripe but with a good backbone. We can’t wait to sample the goods.

Why does/should this mater to you?

Well, this particular issue of Wine Spectator also happens to feature a zinfandel tasting-menu (fit for the outdoor grill) and as such, we’ve been inspired to throw together our own dinner party, complete with wine pairings. Stay tuned for all of the juicy [blackberry, raspberry, and black cherry] details!