NYTimes: Asimov on Zin

In today's NYTimes:
Asimov:Zinfandel

Sigh....Eric trots out the same old whiney complaints about the horrendous alcohol levels and their pruney flavors. He wants us to go back to those "food" wines of the early '80's??? I've never forgiven ole CharlieOlken for his "monster Zins w/ shabby table manners" sound-bite and have always laid that stupid "food" wine craze at his feet. Sorry..Charlie.
But Eric's article is actually pretty good. He focuses on Zins below the (arbitrary) 15% level. So-called claret-style Zins. Wines of balance..as they say. And he gets it exactly right in his praise for the #1 Ridge LyttonSprings, even though he feel compelled to apologize for its 14%+ alcohol. And he gives great kudos to Ridge for their transparency of winemaking choices on their WebSite. And...bless his soul...he gets it right on the Turley Zins...that they are often over 16%, but still display a sense of precision and place. Turley has long ago gotten away from Helen's over-the-top style that they once showed.
I get kinda tired of all this weeping & wailing of alcohol levels in Calif wines. Can't we just let it go and let the wine in the glass speak for itself??? Oh well...I guess the wine writers and bloggers have to have something to whine about.
Tom

Fond memories of Green and Red.

I get kinda tired of all this weeping & wailing of alcohol levels in Calif wines. Can't we just let it go and let the wine in the glass speak for itself??? Oh well...I guess the wine writers and bloggers have to have something to whine about.

But doesn't the article speak to what higher alcohol/bigness mean in the glass?

To put it simply, zinfandel got big, often huge, and occasionally monstrous. Fans of thunderously powerful wines rejoice in these bottles, but not me. I find the blast of rich, sometimes pruney fruit to be overbearing, and the hammer blow of alcohol to be unpleasant. Zinfandels now commonly reach past 15 percent alcohol. They often convey an impression of sweetness that, combined with a thick texture, tends to blot out food. Sometimes they actually are sweet.

I agree with Tom in regards to high alcohol. With all the hype about- “naked wines”, “natural wines” (or what ever you want to call it), and “terroir” and the philosophy of “nothing added and nothing taken away” (but than again like Tom, I like Ridge’s winemaking philosophy- nature take it away, replace it). Let’s just let the wine and/or wine style “speak for themselves”.

Salute