Robert Biale Vineyards: History in a Bottle
Recently I needed to work with a physical therapist after a knee surgery. (Getting older isn’t easy on a body.) At that time, I had a great therapist in Calistoga, CA; and we started talking about wine (imagine that). She stated that her preference was Zinfandel. I got excited to share and asked. “Have you ever tried Biale?” She looked at me calmly and said, “Yes, that is my last name. My father is Robert Biale.” Embarrassed, I realized I had never looked at her last name. I quickly recovered and shared about my wine blog, my love of Black Chicken, and how I had written about it on the blog. More importantly, though, I told her how I had shared the wine with many, many friends over the years and bought more.
This “small world” experience encouraged me to put a return visit to Biale on my to-do list.
Seghesio: A Bright and Fruity Wine at a Nice Price
The primary flavors of Zinfandel are jam, blackberry, black pepper, cherry and plum. You can even find boysenberry, cranberry and licorice in bottles as well. Sounds to me like a great party wine, and that season is just around the corner.
Seghesio is a great buy with a huge production that should not be missed. I have drunk many bottles of this wine. Seghesio has a tasting room in Healdsburg; and, if you ever get to that city, stop in and enjoy the tasting. If you can’t get to Healdsburg, you should you should be able to find this wine in several outlets. For the price, it is quite a delicious bottle.
Zinfandel: Two Excellent Wineries
Zinfandel is widespread and well-known in California. In fact, a legislator in the Golden State once tried to have this lovely grape established as the state grape. While that effort failed, the value and quality of the varietal lives on. Its lighter tannic structure and jammy expression are perfect for many occasions. It produces big rich and luscious styles of red wines where the price point is always welcome.
I have found two excellent wineries that consistently deliver in quality and character with Zinfandel. They may be hard to find, yet I want to share them with you, so if you find them on a wine list or in a local store – do not hesitate. They are wines to enjoy that offer great fruit and depth. Below are excerpts from Wine Spectator describing recent releases from both of these wineries. I have bottles in my cellar from both wineries and have never been disappointed.
Biale’s Black Chicken: This Bird Can Party!
Zinfandel can be many things; yet, for me, it was once a little known varietal. I did not appreciate its multitude of expressions. Well, that was before Biale’s Black Chicken. I remember the bottle and that vintage where I first met this party animal, and I’ve been a fan ever since.
It was the 2004 Biale Black Chicken. Previously, I had dismissed Zinfandel as a big fruity wine with a single note. It all changed when I met this bird. It was amazingly fresh; there was depth of flavor and a degree of complexity and richness I had not discovered before in this varietal. I kept buying it vintage after vintage and sharing the gem with my friends. Trust me, I sold a lot of this wine – no commission – just the pleasure of knowing my friends were enjoying a great wine with a modest price.
Turley Wine Cellars: A $22 Zinfandel and Now Open in Amador County!
My first experience with Zinfandel left me wanting a cabernet. Many I tried were very single dimension, high alcohol with little depth. I never had much appreciation for prunes, and many were reminiscent of that flavor profile. That is until I met Turley. Smooth, rich and easy drinking with more complex flavors – my Zin relationship changed for good, and I wanted to have more.
Larry Turley founded Turley Wine Cellars in 1993. Turley produces terroir-driven single vineyard Zinfandels & Petite Syrahs from some of the oldest and most historic vineyards in California. Each terroir lends its own character to the wines, and they are given separate labels according to the location of each vineyard. With the purchase of Karly in Plymouth, CA, the vineyards are now located in Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles, Lodi, Howell Mountain, Contra Costa, and Amador. In fact, at last count, there were 26 vineyard-specific Zinfandels to enjoy.
A Big Zin and No Win
It is Sunday night, and I am in despair. I’m a big San Francisco 49er fan. The game was intense; and, in the end, well you know. They lost by three points. It was close and, to make it through, I had a little refreshment along the way.
It was a 2009 Turley Zinfandel from the Cedarman Vineyard. I will stick my neck out here and say that Turley is one of the best Zinfandel producers in California. I will also say that I am not sticking my neck out very far by saying that. Turley predominately makes single vineyard wines and is prolific in their production.