What a week we’re having over here.  I attended a trade-only tasting in Los Gatos organized by the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association and had the opportunity to sample some truly glorious wines, the most notable of which were Burgundian-style Pinots, Chardonnays, and — though I’m not usually a fan — a fabulous Barbera.  More on those later.

For now, though, we thought it appropriate to lay the groundwork for the warmer months ahead, when barbecues across the nation will fire up to cook foods in need of a wine companion, by reviewing a nicely priced Zinfandel. 

We bought our bottle of Cline Zinfandel directly from Cline’s tasting room — it was there that our pourer, a lovely woman who had relocated from Arizona to work in the California wine industry, first gave us the idea of naming our Tuesday posts ”Weekday Wines.”  Weekday wines were those on the front side of the menu costing $20 and less, and weekend wines made up the rest on the back side.

Interestingly, we ended up purchasing the cheapest bottle of everything on offer, and tasting it again the other night validated our choice.  Our bottle tasted of raisins and plums, with black pepper present on the finish — it wasn’t really a complex wine, but it had enough acid to counterbalance the high alcohol content, and the flavors were quite pleasing to our palates. 

Conclusion?  A perfect wine to buy in bulk for a barbecue.  Mission accomplished!