Budget Vino

A Zin for all occasions- Peachy Canyon 2005 Incredible Red

I'm sure that this has happened to you at least one time in your life. You go out for drinks/dinner with friends or family, have a few cocktails before the meal, then order a glass of wine. The wine is served, and it tastes amazing. You love it- so much so that you write down the name, and make a pact with yourself that at the first available moment, you're going to run to the store and pickup a bottle of this treasure. Sometime later, you excitedly buy this bottle of wine, only to find that it tastes terrible. You can't understand why it's so bad. It was so good at the restaurant. Or was it? You think back to the evening, and soon remember that the moment you took your first sips, you were a few drinks in and a little buzzed. Your judgment was most definitely impaired!

About a month ago, I was at a local restaurant, and the first part of this scenario presented itself. I was a few drinks deep into the evening (make that many), and I ordered a glass of w ine recommended by the server. The wine was Peachy Canyon 2005 Incredible Red Zinfandel. I liked this wine so much that after sip #2, I typed the name into my Treo. When we finished up at the restaurant, I remember raving to my friends about how awesome this Zinfandel tasted. I couldn't thank the server enough for the amazing recommendation.

Fast forward to yesterday.

I was at Trader Joe's, and I saw a bottle of this wine. Curious to see if Peachy Canyon was even a slight bit as good as I remembered it, I bought a bottle and served it to some guests. Contrary to what I thought would happen (see scenario above), this wine was actually great. It was thin, but that made it much more versatile than most Zin's I've tried (which is pretty important when you're serving wine to friends that have extremely varied tastes). It had a really nice spice to it, and no heavy aftertaste. It was the perfect wine to enjoy before dinner, and during the meal.

I'm confident that this time, my assessment of this wine is pretty spot on, as I was completely sober when I enjoyed my first glass. I can't say the same for glass #3.

Recommendation: Definitely buy it

See a rodeo? Ride a bull- Rancho Zabaco Dancing Bull 2003 Zin

This past Monday, as I was taking a broken down van ride to the airport in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, I saw what appeared to be a makeshift rodeo grounds. In my broken Spanish, I asked the driver what we had just passed, and he confirmed that it was a Mexican bull-riding arena. Immediately, I swore to myself that should I ever go back to Cabo, going to a Mexican bull-riding show would be a priority. I've never seen such an event, but I imagine that it would be an experience I would not soon forget.

The thought of bulls and bull-riding must have entered my subconscious and stayed there for the rest of the day, for when I landed back home that night and went to my local convenience store for a bottle of wine, I went straight for the Rancho Zabaco Dancing Bull 2003 Zinfandel.

Unsure of how this wine would taste, I followed my 3 tips to make a $10 bottle of wine taste better, unpacked my clothes, and prepared to jump into the Dancing Bull. I'm glad I did. This wine was really good. It had a strong smell to it, which made me think it would be heavy. Turns out, it was nice and light- a perfect wine to drink in large quantities while hanging with friends, or when hanging out alone catching up on last week's episode of 24.

So whether or not seeing a Mexican bull riding arena excites you, I'd still encourage you to give this bull a try.

Recommendation: Definitely buy it.

Decent, not Dynamite- Dynamite Vineyards 2004 Zinfandel

In keeping with my new found appreciation of Zindfandel wines and funky labels, this week I thought I'd throw out my opinion of Dynamite Vineyards 2004 Zinfandel.

First off, let me say that I did not enjoy this wine as much as the Blue Monkey Zinfandel I reviewed last week. This is contrary to the opinions of Wilford Wong, who scored this wine higher than the Blue Monkey. Seems he and I are in disagreement yet again.

The Dynamite Zinfandel was decent, but it left a lot to be desired. It lacked the smooth texture and taste I had hoped for, and I found the aftertaste a little too harsh. With no money available to go out and buy a new bottle of wine, I forced myself to keep with it. This was a good move on my part. My second glass was a definite improvement over the first, which makes me think that this wine should be decanted for an hour or so before drinking. Straight out of the bottle, it's just not my top Zinfandel choice. After it's had a chance to breathe, it just might be worth your $10.

Recommendation: Consider buying it (if you've got an hour of decanting time)

Fun with a monkey- Blue Monkey '03 Zinfandel

I was in BevMo the other day and was in the mood for an inexpensive Zin. I've never been a big Zin fan, but lately i've found myself a little more interested. In my quest to find a good one, I came across the Blue Monkey '03 offering. My penchance for cool labels took over, and I bought the bottle. I'm glad I did.

The Blue Monkey experience starts with the unique cork. The cork is a blue plastic inscribed with the words- "Let the monkey out EEE EEE EEE." It's a nice little twist on a typically boring part of the wine bottle, and it definitely got me more excited to try the wine. The wine itself was pretty good. It wasn't as great as the Rosenblum I reviewed last week, but it was good nonetheless. The Monkey had a nice balance to it- never overwhelming, and with a pleasant aftertaste. I drank the Monkey on it's own, but I imagine it would go really well with some fried food or barbeque. Given it's unique bottle traits, it would also be a fun wine to bring to a dinner or party.

Recommendation: Definitely buy it

A fine Zin- Rosenblum Cellars Zinfandel

A couple weeks ago I began a new business endeavor with a great team (more info on that to follow in future posts). Last week, we decided to celebrate our first week in our new office with a few Friday afternoon beverages. Our founder brought in a couple bottles of wine for us to share. One of those was Rosenblum Cellars Vintners Cuvee Zinfandel. This wine comes to us by way of Alameda, California. Alameda? Where the hell is Alameda you might ask? Alameda is a little island across the bay from San Francisco. If not for a co-worker being from Alameda, or for the toxic fire I saw burning from its shores on Monday, I would never have been able to find it on a map.

Sufficed to say, expectations were seriously low. I reluctantly poured a glass of this Zinfandel. Shockingly, this wine was really good. For a young red wine, it delivered. I would almost venture to say that it was great. It wasn't too fruity, and it went down smooth. I would definitely encourage you to try this surprisingly good red wine.

Recommendation: Definitely buy it.