I’m arranging a Zinfandel blind tasting next month, and I’ve compiled my short list of wines to include in the flight. Many of these wines have been personal favorites over the years, such as the Ridge and the Grgich Hills. Others, like the Unti, is a more recent discovery, but one that was so memorable that I’m really looking forward to seeing how it compares.
For me, six wines is the ideal number for a blind tasting — it provides a nice sampling of the varietal, but it doesn’t become too overwhelming. Naturally, I will provide a detailed post-mortem of the tasting sometime in the next couple weeks. These are the wines I plan to judge (I will gather the complete data leading up to the tasting):
• Unti Vineyards Dry Creek Zinfandel 2005: 85% Zinfandel, 11% Petite Sirah, 4% Barbera; 14.9% alcohol; 1,345 cases produced; $25
• Grgich Hills Estate Napa Valley Zinfandel 2005: 98% Zinfandel, 2% Petite Sirah; 14.9% alcohol; 5,500 cases produced; $33
• Ridge Ponzo Vineyard 2006: 95% Zinfandel, 5% Petite Sirah; alcohol unknown; case production unknown; $28
• Nickel & Nickel Ponzo Vineyard 2005: 100% Zinfandel; 14.4% alcohol; case production unknown; $48
• Mauritson Rockpile Ridge Zinfandel 2006: 95% Zinfandel, 5% Petite Sirah; 15.5% alcohol; 857 cases produced; $35
• Summers Estate Napa Valley Zinfandel 2006: blend, alcohol and production unknown; $34
