Current Tour
Zintastic!
The first varietal I fell in love with was Zinfandel. My first job and introduction to wine was with Franciscan Oakville Estate. I didn't even know what a Merlot was or what made red wine red or white wine white. Fortunately Franciscan had a large portfolio, including Mt. Veeder, so I was introduced to all sorts of varietals, including Zinfandel. The Franciscan Zinfandel was jammy, while the Mt. Veeder Zin was peppery. I loved both sides of the spectrum.
Over the years I lost touch with Zinfandel. I just wasn't enjoying them like I had ten years ago. I don't know if it was all the zins trying to behave like cabs, or the sensation of my nose hairs burning from the huge alcohol content. Whatever it was, I just didn't get Zin anymore. But then last year I attended the "Good Eats" event at the ZAP fest and suddenly Zinfandel made sense to me. The reason being is that every zin at the Good Eats event is paired with a food. When paired with food, Zinfandel makes sense. The Zinfandel seemed to make every dish taste better and vice versa. Whether a winemaker wants a jammy zin, a peppery zin, a 17.1% zin, or a claret style zin, in the end, zin needs to be with food. This isn't a new trend. This isn't something that ZAP discovered. The family meal is how Zinfandel found its way to the USA.
Well over 100 years ago Italian immigrants brought Zinfandel root stock to the states with them. They often planted the zinfandel amongst a smorgasbord of other varietals and planted what is called a field blend. The grapes were planted sort of haphazardly. They were harvested, crushed, and fermented together. However, the dominant grape was usually Zinfandel.
Sadly, most of field blend vineyards in Napa have been torn out to make way for cabernet. (Casa Nuestra owns one of the last remaining field blends in the Napa Valley). As cabernet became king, zinfandel was demoted to a mere peasant. But last year a group of Napa wineries decided to form the Napa Zin Trail to bring recognition to the family grape. And this month, Small Lots Big Wines features Napa Zinfandel and the family meal with which it was meant to be enjoyed.
This month we've created our own Napa Zin Trail:
Food Pairing for this month's wines:
Last year they opened a tasting room and began offering one of the most unique tasting experiences in the Napa Valley, a food and wine pairing. However, this is no ordinary food and wine pairing because the food is a high end delicious variety of trail mix (i.e. fruits and nuts.) especially formulated to pair with their Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Cab, and Zinfandel. 
Our first stop on this Zintastic Journey is Chase Cellars, on the South side of St. Helena. Chase Cellars' history roots run deep in the Napa Valley. The original owners of this property are responsible for Greystone Winery which is now the Culinary Institute. But just as important as this iconic building of the Napa Valley, is their iconic 100-year-old Hayne Vineyard, one of the most famous Zinfandel vineyards in the Napa Valley. With head trimmed, dry-farmed, 100 year old Zinfandel vine, this vineyard produces big spicy zins that have made Chase a favorite amongst Napa Zin Lovers.