alcohol level convert...

maybe.

I'm one who complains about high alcohol wines; even when they are supposedly in balance I don't like the heat getting in the way of the food.

Last night I tried an experiment, pairing Zinfandel with curried cornish hen. To my sneaking suspicious surprise, it was a good pairing. More surprising, however, was the wine and its alcohol.

It was Bogle 2004 Old Vine Zinfandel (didn't want to do a mid-week experiment with something more pocketbook draining...)

Anyway, the wine is stable and quite stylistically pre-fruit bomb days, bramble-like, hints of raspberries--and not overly alcoholic. But the label claims 14.5%.

I was floored by the news. This wine is not hot at all.

It's a "Vinted and Bottled by..." which means Bogle had little to do with its fermentation, so I don't know who to praise for the effort. But a good $12 wine and one that may have led me on a course of conversion, or at the very least I'll shut up about not liking high alcohol wines

Interesting Thomas! Do you think you enjoyed the wine because of the curry spice? Had you tried it without food?

Interesting Thomas! Do you think you enjoyed the wine because of the curry spice? Had you tried it without food?

I had tried a glass of the wine about two weeks ago, but it was at a gathering and so I didn't focus on the minute details that I would have had it been a wine event. But the wine impressed me then, and so I bought a few bottles.

I've always wanted to try my curried hen dish with a red wine, but I always thought Mourvedre. The Zinfandel was there and so I gave it a try. Until last night, my favorite wines with the dish have been Riesling or Gewurztraminer--now I have three favorites for three separate reasons.

Wine and food pairing is so much more than tasting like with like.

Wine and food pairing is so much more than tasting like with like.

I totally agree!

I have heard good things about the Bogle Old Vine Zin...but hadn't tried it yet.

I am glad that you liked it on it's own as well as with your curried hen dish.

Thank you for the heads up...I will certainly try it with my next chicken curry dish...I would have never thought to pair it with that. I had always done Riesling too.

If you had any TNs about it...I would be interested in reading them!

"bramble-like, hints of raspberries" the most outstanding feature.

Maria,

I'm not an Internet TN kind of guy and I rarely make in-depth public references to specific products, for professional reasons.

IMHO this a very nice P/Q wine year in and year out. Granted it is a California bottling and "Old Vines" technically means nothing, but they still manage to do a good job.

"bramble-like, hints of raspberries" the most outstanding feature.

Thanks!

Maria,

I'm not an Internet TN kind of guy and I rarely make in-depth public references to specific products, for professional reasons.

gotcha Thomas

It is a wine that is heavily influenced by its petite syrah content. It tastes as much like a petite syrah than it does a zin.

I wouldn't say I found it particularly high alc. tasting... but then again I somewhat desensitized to alc. The Barbera I reviewed recently said it was 15.5 ish and it tasted 16%ish. More Barberas tonight.

Maybe it was the food? When I tried this at Nugget Market at one of their tastings, all's I got was Welch's Grape Juice, and I didn't care for it.

Not sure what I feel about alcohol in itself. I tried a monster of an almost late harvest Lodi zin that was 16%, but very very dry-and I still liked it.

Willing to bet that just about anyone on this site,tasting wine blind with abv% varying from 12.5% to 15.5% would not be able to distinguish,which from which.
Have tried this myself with a number of experienced tasters,and as long as the wine is well made/balanced it is almost impossible to tell them apart.
Furthermore,we know that many if not most wine label abv% are inaccurate-----------conclusion do not worry too much about abv----if the wine is enjoyable, that is all that matters.

Maybe it was the food? When I tried this at Nugget Market at one of their tastings, all's I got was Welch's Grape Juice, and I didn't care for it.

Not sure what I feel about alcohol in itself. I tried a monster of an almost late harvest Lodi zin that was 16%, but very very dry-and I still liked it.

I don't get upset when someone dislikes something that I like, but to call that wine Welch's Grape juice is to stretch credibility.

Willing to bet that just about anyone on this site,tasting wine blind with abv% varying from 12.5% to 15.5% would not be able to distinguish,which from which.
Have tried this myself with a number of experienced tasters,and as long as the wine is well made/balanced it is almost impossible to tell them apart.
Furthermore,we know that many if not most wine label abv% are inaccurate-----------conclusion do not worry too much about abv----if the wine is enjoyable, that is all that matters.

Essentially true. That hotness of too much alcohol is a balance issue, that is why this particular wine has appeal--it is balanced.

I suppose what I am saying is that there are a lot of unbalanced wines posing as top scorers

inaccurate-----------conclusion do not worry too much about abv----if the wine is enjoyable, that is all that matters.

Forget which thread has it but someone wrote down the US. Regs. Excuse me for being an ignorammus but the way I remember it is if the wine is listed as under 14% then it has to be under 14, but if it is listed as above 14% then it has to be within 1.5% of being accurate.

In other words all chips are taken off the table if the alc. is listed as above 14%. So the real stuff could be 14.1% or 15.^%

{:>)

I don't get upset when someone dislikes something that I like, but to call that wine Welch's Grape juice is to stretch credibility.

That was what I tasted-very strongly and distinctively. But, what do I know? An awful lot of people love this wine.

I think the way it works is that if the alcohol is below 14% then the permissible variation is +/- 1.5%, unless the alcohol content statement on the label is "table wine" in which case it must be between 7% and 14%. For wine above 14%, the permissible variation is +/- 1.0%.

I think the way it works is that if the alcohol is below 14% then the permissible variation is +/- 1.5%, unless the alcohol content statement on the label is "table wine" in which case it must be between 7% and 14%. For wine above 14%, the permissible variation is +/- 1.0%.

Correct--as of last week...

I saw a wine recently listed at 13.3% alcohol. .3%? Suspicious number to me...

Just curious----but does anyone actually check the abv in the wine? If so,what proportion is actually checked? In other words are the regulations enforced in any meaningful way,because I gather in may countries in the world,regulation is just about non-existent.

Hi Keith , how is the break in the homeland going?!! Some some interesting SA wines in an upscale store here the other day. Interesting discussion about abv here, I myself do not pay too much attention.

Bob--my homeland is the UK but my heart is in Africa and especially the beautiful Cape
It is a bit hot here though at the moment 35C,so I guess the grapes will be ripening very quickly,perhaps too quickly for winemakers!!
Hopefully,it will cool down to the normal 26C soon cheers Keith