ZAP!

I happily attended the Grand Zinfandel Tasting at the ZAP festival on Saturday.  Fort Mason was brimming with sunshine, excited zinfandel fans, taxi cabs waiting in line, taco trucks, grass skirts, leis, tribal masks and wine overflowing in two buildings.  A-G in one, H-Z in the other.   We were on the hunt for small wineries with great zin.  ZAP didn't disappoint!   I handed out quite a few business cards, hoping at least a few will be interested in Small Lots Big Wines.  We're here to serve the small wineries, but they have to want it!

Glass in hand, our first stop was to get a loaf of bread and some Smart water.  This is why I carry a purse!  This is also why there are breadcrumbs stuck to the bottom. *sigh* 

The first thing we notice is how nice the workers are.  Maybe it was the Hawaiian theme?  Smiles abound as we work our way towards the tables.  The noise was deafening.   After sampling many tables, we snuck outside to hear something other than the roar of thousands of people talking.   The picture below shows zin lovers from building H-Z taking a noise break and enjoying the view.  That's the famous island of Alcatraz you see in the background, AKA- The Rock.  You can almost see Sean Connery swimming to freedom!

Even though this event was crowded with people, it was very well spread out.  The wait for a pour, if any, was minimal.  There was plenty of cheese, bread and water.  Lots of spit buckets!  Well, you know how it is, not everyone dumps and/or spits.  Towards the end there were a few people that could barely walk- but most people seemed to be taking their zin in stride!

I had a lot of fun running into my ex-con friends.  Don't worry, although Alcatraz is a short swim from Fort Mason, I'm referring to ex-Constellation employees. Many I found at small wineries - Kathy and Rebecca were manning the SideJob Cellars booth.  SideJob has a wonderful Dry Creek Zin, C-5 - it's named after Jeff's corvette, the one he had to sell to start his "side job"

I got a big kick out of what some wineries call their zins- here is a sample of more:

Plungerhead

Fly by Night

Powder Keg

Big Bad Wolf

InZinerator

The Devious Woman

Zinzilla

Oblivious

Liar's Dice

Controlled Chaos

Explozin

Smuggler's Son

Por que no?

Twisted Sister

ZaZa Zin

My favorite novelty item was Saddleback's "Barrel Program-Wine by the Glass" - for $52 a gallon, you get a stainless steel barrel ($200 refundable deposit- like getting a keg of beer) you get the delicious, smoky 2008 Napa Valley Old Vine Zinfandel.  Well, I think it's for restaurants only, but wouldn't it be cool (and green!) if the general public could get those too!

Continuing on, we tasted, dumped and kept our wits.  We talked to, hugged and dodged a fair share of fellow zin lovers.

I was happy to see a lot of producers that were in our Sibling Rivalry event, especially because we were so busy at our event we didn't get a chance to taste all the wines.  Ballentine, Benessere, Downing, Fontanella, Kokomo, Moss Creek, Peju, Saddleback, SideJob, Tin Barn, Tofanelli, Woodenhead and Z-52.  

I also stopped at Nichelini's table.  I love their zin, and the history of this winery, the oldest family owned, continuously operated winery in Napa Valley!  I got married there years ago, thanks in part to Toni Nichelini-Irwin.  I didn't realize that she had died earlier this month. So with a few tears in my eyes, I drank a silent toast to a great woman.  I hope someone has written down the history of how her grandfather produced wine through prohibition.    The winery won't seem the same without her, but her dedication and love of the winery will be felt in those old walls.  Next time I go there I'll still hear Sinatra, Dean Martin and all the great music she played in the cellar. Cheers Toni!

Other then my sad moment and my parking ticket, the day was a complete success.  Oh, except for the comment from A------ Winery (owner) that saw my sticker and said "Media!  There sure seems to be a lot of you guys around here, must've been a cheap ticket."   Well, I told him we probably paid what he did to get in. I doubt he'll be joining our website JGeesh, you try to do something nice and that's the thanks you get!