Finally, our group of eight was back together. It was a great feeling, as I was especially eager to have them taste the wines coming from one of my favorite vineyards, not just in Paso, but anywhere – Dusi.

I have already written about my appreciation for the Zinfandels that Janell Dusi makes from the historic Dusi Vineyard, as well as my fondness for wines that come from this vineyard that are made by other wineries.

And I have written about the great Zinfandel grappa she makes.

So, I won’t bore you with all that here.

But, we found out she also now makes a terrific Carignane, a wonderful Syrah and a very tasty Zinfandel Port. Even though I knew the Syrah is coming in our Fall club shipment, I bought two more that day – awesome stuff.

As J Dusi has no tasting room, Janell graciously hosted our group of eight in her family’s home on the vineyard, along with another group of four. She patiently tasted us through all her wines, including all three vintages of her Zinfandel that she has so far released [2006, 2007, and 2008] and explained a lot about the grapes and the history of the vineyard.

We also spent some time out in the vineyard, which to me made this experience even more special, especially being able to share it with our wonderful friends.

To Be Continued…

Michael Perlis provides outsourced controller services to businesses that do not need a full-time controller. He balances this with his interest in wine: reading and writing about it and, of course, drinking it. He is still trying to figure out how to combine these two pursuits. Feel free to contact him about either at mcpfinancial@aol.com or michaelthezinfan@aol.com.  “It is common practice for wine industry workers, wine writers and winery club members [and members of their party] to receive complimentary tastings and discounted purchases. Unless it is otherwise noted, it should be presumed that this is the case.”