Old Vine Zins
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I have made the CC Showcase OVZ and its just OK. Not great, not bad, just OK, not much ZIn character IMHO and I will not be making another (others to try). Next time I will be trying the above RJS.
I would say raspberry, blackberry, cherry, plums, spice and blackpepper all wrapped around various intensities of oak depending on the wine maker.
We just opened a bottle of one of my current favorite inexpensive Zins last night served with grilled burgers, Joel Gott. Another good inexpensive one is the Rancho Zabaco (black label) Zin.
Both of these are available in many stores across the US. You should find a bottle and try it to make sure you like the profile. This is a go to wine for any grilled meat or BBQ.
We just opened a bottle of one of my current favorite inexpensive Zins last night served with grilled burgers, Joel Gott. Another good inexpensive one is the Rancho Zabaco (black label) Zin.
Both of these are available in many stores across the US. You should find a bottle and try it to make sure you like the profile. This is a go to wine for any grilled meat or BBQ.
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A good Zin is great with spicy food. We do a Jalapino-Pineapple salsa with pork loin. You get the sweet then the bite. We ALWAYS eat with a bottle or two of spicy Zin.
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We currently have 2 Jalapeno, 1 Ghost pepper and 5 Tomato. Love to marinate steaks with jalapeno, onions, spicy Montreal seasoning and grape seed oil (about 2 hrs in ziplock) and then onto the grill.
Nothing better!!!!
This is Wendy (wife) when we sometimes get too much jalapeno.
I believe that jalapeno is like garlic.....You can't have too much!
Nothing better!!!!
I believe that jalapeno is like garlic.....You can't have too much!
Sounds really great, Brent. You did not mention adding any "vitamin G" to the marinade. Also, what cut of steak do you use? Thanks.
Here's a head to head comparison of the RJS Winery Series OV Zin and the Cellar Craft Showcase Lodi OVZ. Sorry for the delay but we just opened a 375 ml ofboth at 18 months since fermentation was completed. We started these 2 weeks apart so were under nearly identical conditions. Both fermented at about 75 deg.
Changes to the kit instructions included fermenting both to dry in the primary (14 days). Added grape pack to bag and tied to platic spoon to keep trapped under the surface. Added 2 Med Plus American Oak spirals to the RJS for about 3 weeks. MyRJS kit only came with one small pack of French Oak shavings (wonder if additional oak was missing). We felt it a bit light in the oak when tasting after first racking off of solids. Aged both in carboy for 9 months.
Tasting note for RJS at 18 months. Firm tannins, black pepper with overtones of black cherry. Good finish.
Tasting note for CC at 18 months. Fruit forward, starts with sweet note, cherry & currant, smooth. Longer finish. Weaker in tannins. Sort of reminded me of some Australian Shiraz the way you first sense a slight sweetness but it isn't.
Prior to purchasing these I talked to Joseph at FVW and his comment was that RJS could be expected to be more structured and the CC to be more fruit forward. He was right on.
At this point I would recommend both ofthese kits, depending on your taste. I believe they will both be excellent wines with time. I liked the RJS betterand my wife liked the CC. We are both dry wine drinkers.
Changes to the kit instructions included fermenting both to dry in the primary (14 days). Added grape pack to bag and tied to platic spoon to keep trapped under the surface. Added 2 Med Plus American Oak spirals to the RJS for about 3 weeks. MyRJS kit only came with one small pack of French Oak shavings (wonder if additional oak was missing). We felt it a bit light in the oak when tasting after first racking off of solids. Aged both in carboy for 9 months.
Tasting note for RJS at 18 months. Firm tannins, black pepper with overtones of black cherry. Good finish.
Tasting note for CC at 18 months. Fruit forward, starts with sweet note, cherry & currant, smooth. Longer finish. Weaker in tannins. Sort of reminded me of some Australian Shiraz the way you first sense a slight sweetness but it isn't.
Prior to purchasing these I talked to Joseph at FVW and his comment was that RJS could be expected to be more structured and the CC to be more fruit forward. He was right on.
At this point I would recommend both ofthese kits, depending on your taste. I believe they will both be excellent wines with time. I liked the RJS betterand my wife liked the CC. We are both dry wine drinkers.
Hey Rick,
Thanks for that comparison. That's the sort of thing many of us need.
Concerning the "slight sweetness but isn't", is the ABV higher in the CC than in the RJS?
I know many commercial OVZ's can be up in the 15% range. Higher alcohol, but below 40% can sometimes come across as extra sweetness.
My last trip to California wine country, I spent time in Northern Sonoma and in Mendocino County, where lots of Zin is grown/made. I did several tastings of multiple Zins, side-by-side, rather than one Zin, one Pinot, one cab, ..etc. There are some really great Zins, but most seem to come from the smaller boutique-style wineries, which you won't be able to sample unless you go there.
A side note, in the area where I did my tastings, it seemed to be common practice to mix a small percentage of Petite Syrah with the Zin to add body, mouth-feel and a little extra boldness. I liked that, since Petite Syrah is a favorite.
Thanks for that comparison. That's the sort of thing many of us need.
Concerning the "slight sweetness but isn't", is the ABV higher in the CC than in the RJS?
I know many commercial OVZ's can be up in the 15% range. Higher alcohol, but below 40% can sometimes come across as extra sweetness.
My last trip to California wine country, I spent time in Northern Sonoma and in Mendocino County, where lots of Zin is grown/made. I did several tastings of multiple Zins, side-by-side, rather than one Zin, one Pinot, one cab, ..etc. There are some really great Zins, but most seem to come from the smaller boutique-style wineries, which you won't be able to sample unless you go there.
A side note, in the area where I did my tastings, it seemed to be common practice to mix a small percentage of Petite Syrah with the Zin to add body, mouth-feel and a little extra boldness. I liked that, since Petite Syrah is a favorite.
As another side, on that same trip I went to Kendall Jackson's huge tasting facility in Northern Sonoma County. I ask them why they didn't have a Zin.
They said the "old man" would never stoop low enough to produce a Zin. Hm-m-m-m, maybe there are wine snobs even in the wine industry...
I have heard that Zin grapes are less complex than some others, but wow, what about the great taste???
They said the "old man" would never stoop low enough to produce a Zin. Hm-m-m-m, maybe there are wine snobs even in the wine industry...
I have heard that Zin grapes are less complex than some others, but wow, what about the great taste???
The ABV for both was about the same.Starting SG for the RJS was 1.1 and 1.095 for the CC. Both fermented to 0.994. However, in my notes I said thatI was not sure that the grape pack was completelydispersed on the CC kit.That pack is more jammy and thick. I stirredthe bag around for about 30 minutes before taking the final ready. Should have waited a few hours or the following morning and checked again. First readingwas 1.08.
Another possibility is the smoothness to the mouthfeel. Seems like a more velvety smooth finish tricks the tongue a bit.
Another possibility is the smoothness to the mouthfeel. Seems like a more velvety smooth finish tricks the tongue a bit.
