Because you know I’m all about that zin
‘Bout that zin, no pinot
I’m all ’bout that zin, ’bout that zin, no pinot
I’m all ’bout that zin, ’bout that zin, no pinot
I’m all ’bout that zin, ’bout that zin
‘Bout that Paso zin
{With apologies to Meghan Trainor and Kevin Kadish}
Wine has been produced in Paso Robles for a long time, for many years fairly quietly, and Paso flew under the radar for all but a few of us.
There were, and still are, lots of pioneers to credit for Paso Robles finally getting the recognition it deserves, but the region really seemed to hit its stride when the Wine Spectator named Justin Smith’s Saxum Syrah from his James Berry Vineyard as its wine of the year a few years back. This gave definite legitimacy to the claim that Paso was staking as being a great producer of Rhone varietals. I myself have been singing the praises of wineries such as Epoch, Law and Denner, among others, as making great wines from these grapes.
More recently, the Paso Robles Cab Collective has been promoting the region’s Cabernet Sauvignon production as well.
But one evening not very long ago, I was reminded quite forcefully of what got me really interested in Paso Robles in the first place – Zinfandel. My wife Karen and I were dining with some good friends and I had selected from our cellar three Paso Zins, all from the 2010 vintage, to accompany our meal.
First up – Turley Wine Cellars Zinfandel from the Pesenti Vineyard…
Turley’s acquisition of the Pesenti Vineyard and winery in the late 90s gave Turley an immediate major presence in the region. But the vineyard had a long history before that. Planted in the 1920s, the Pesentis were true pioneers of the Paso Robles winegrowing region. We first started visiting the Pesenti winery in the 1990s, always our first stop of the day, as the tasting room opened at 9 AM! [To my knowledge, Turley has maintained this opening time, enabling wine lovers to start with a true “breakfast of champions”.] This wine was drinking perfectly, and the high alcohol percentage did nothing to overpower the fruit.
The second Zinfandel of the evening was from Denner Vineyards. Denner has built its stellar reputation primarily on the excellence of its Rhones, particularly its Ditch Digger and Dirt Worshipper red blends, but this Zinfandel was truly a revelation.
When I had first tasted this particular Zinfandel at the winery, I was concerned about it being a little overpowering, but a couple years resting in the bottle fully integrated the flavors with just a touch of oak into a delicious wine. I don’t often describe a Zin as elegant, but I think it applied here.
The final wine of the evening was the Tobin James Blue Moon Zinfandel. Now I am not going to deny it – this wine was massive. An initial intriguing smokiness on the palate gave way to beautiful ripe fruit, making it a perfect match for the chocolate lava cake that was our dessert.
This bottle kind of brought our Zinfandel adventure that evening full circle. As the Pesentis were early wine growing pioneers in Paso going back to the early 1900s, Toby was one of the young guns who helped garner the region attention in the 1990s. I had first tasted his wine [a Merlot, if I remember correctly] at a tasting room in Templeton called Templeton Corners, before the Tobin James tasting room on the east side of Paso Robles had even opened. Then, when Toby finally opened that tasting room, I remember sitting at the tasting bar with him and experiencing what he could do with Paso Robles Zinfandel, an experience that was instrumental in triggering my love of this grape [and for my silly email address].
Contrary to what some people may think, I do try to try as many different wines as I can. Admittedly, I do sometimes get stuck in ruts and I definitely have a great fondness for the Rhone varietals. But some nights, well, it’s just all about that Zin.
Michael Perlis has been pursuing his passion for wine for more than 25 years. He has had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show him the way, as well as a wonderful wife who encourages him and shares his interest. After a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as he possibly could, he had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Now, as Contributing Editor for Eve’s Wine 101, he does his best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers. Michael is also Vice President of Eve Bushman Consulting (fka Eve’s Wine 101 Consulting) http://evebushmanconsulting.com/ and President of MCP Financial. Michael can be contacted at michaelthezinfan@aol.com or michael@evebushmanconsulting.com
