Tasting the Home Made Zinfandel

As you may have seen in a previous post of mine, my dad tried something new this year...he departed from his usual primary wine making grape, alicante, and made a batch of wine out of only the zinfandel grape.

Well last week I got the chance to taste the wine with my old man, and I have to say, I think he hit a home run with it. I've been drinking his wine for a very long time, and I think this zinfandel might be the best wine he's ever made.

Now it was only made in September, so let's not take my review of it out of context, but I thought it delivered some quality that could very well make it an everyday drinking wine. Because of it young age, it didn't pack the punch of an aged Zinfandel, but that may be what I liked about it. The color was a wonderful ruby, and the nose was sweet, with black cherry and floral hints. As for the taste, it was good...ripe fruits with a little smokiness, but again because of its age, didn't hit you like most Zinfandels do. This wine was very easy to drink...perhaps too easy if you judge by the throbbing in my head the next morning.


Overall I give the wine a rating of 7 corks, which is very good. Congrats to my dad for trying something new and creating something I think most people would enjoy.

Pop the Cork - Ravenswood, Sonoma, California

We visited the Ravenswood Winery recently during a trip to the west coast, where we shot up to Somona County and Napa Valley. One of the wineries we especially enjoyed was Ravenswood right outside of Downtown Sonoma. Surrounded by beautiful scenery and staffed by knowledgeable, UNintimidating staff that makes you feel very comfortable and welcome.




If I remember correctly, this wine was sourced from a local Sonoma vineyard owned by Barbara and Patricia, hence the name Barricia.

The wine: Ravenswood Barricia Zinfandel Sonoma Valley 2004

Country: United States

Region: Sonoma Valley, California

Category: Zinfandel

Vintage: 2004

Price: $26.00

The color: Ruby red,

The Nose: Nice cherries and currants, red fruit

The Tasting Notes: Not what you might be expecting from a zinfandel. A well rounded subtle wine, with lush dried cherry and other red fruit flavors. A well rounded wine that would pair very well with food. The finish could be a bit longer, but a very classy wine. The label gives unquie facts like the picking date (Sept. 9, 2004), bottling date (April 19, 2006), total cases (1220) and total acidity (0.65g-100ml).

The Verdict: High 8 corks