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| Do NOT drink and drive, Teddy! |
Tom Meadowcroft began his career in the wine industry by working the 1979 harvest in Bordeaux. From there he worked at wineries in Washington and Napa Valley. As a vineyard manager, he focused on sustainable farming. And then, he began his own personal collection.
This particular Zinfandel comes from Sonoma County, which is west of Napa with an abundance of climates. The first thing I smelled when I put my nose to the glass was cedar. Literally, it just jumped out at me. On a second sniff you may also gather aromas of pepper and clover.
There are hints of a dark blackberry as you taste the wine. Though this is not a smooth wine; in fact, I’d describe it as leathery. And leathery isn’t always a bad thing. This Zinfandel would pair nicely with some ribs or saltier cheeses. (And for those of you celebrating Valentine’s alone this year: the alcohol content is quite high.)
The Zinfandel grape is genetically equivalent to Crljenak Kastelanski (Croatia) and Primitivo in the south of Italy. How it got the name Zinfandel in the United States, I have not a clue.
(FYI: The honeybee on the Meadowcroft logo symbolizes all the hard work and diligence it takes to create a fine wine!)
Hi Jessica. I saw your post. Here is what I found in case you're interested from www.thewinesociety.com:
ReplyDelete"The Imperial Viennese gardens kept cuttings of all vines within the realm including a Hungarian white called "zinfandeller"….perhaps the vine tags were switched at some point. Or is it named in honour of 18th century German botanist Dr Zinn? Another, quite fitting explanation is that it comes from the Italian "zingaro", meaning gypsy."
Happy wine exploration!
Sean