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