Although the season has not gone exactly as planned, we had a welcome development the other day: Dan Dickau - he of the floppy hair and Gonzaga pedigree - signed with the D-League and we promptly traded Kyle McAlarney to the Springfield Armor for Dan's rights. Certainly Kyle was a favorite of our front office - a great kid and a mean 3-point shooter - but Dan is a floor general who can control the tempo of the game and has great court vision. Add in the veteran savvy that he has picked up over the course of 6 NBA seasons, and he has just the combination of skills we need to make the best of this team's talents. Sure enough, the first two games he started were decisive Mad Ants victories, coming in back-to-back games against the Erie Bayhawks.
In honor of Dan's arrival, I grabbed a bottle of 2006 Old Vine Zinfandel from the Klinker Brick Winery in Lodi, California - www.klinkerbrickwinery.com - at my new favorite bottle shop, Belmont Beverage, for about $16. The significance of this bottle is certainly not the Brick in the winery's name - which would be much more suitable if I was talking about our 2007 center, Larry Turner, instead of Dan. Rather, I chose this bottle because Dan's veteran savvy on the basketball court can be analogized to the complex characteristics that grapes grown on old vines contribute to a wine.
"Old vine" is a term used on wine labels to convey to the consumer that the grapes used for the wine were grown on mature vines. Most grape vines can live for 120 or so years, with their yields declining after the first 20 years. These declining yields make for not only smaller numbers of grapes, but smaller berries and fewer clusters, meaning more concentrated flavors, sugar and color. True to form, wines made from old vines are unbelievably good: they are rich and complex and make you feel like you should be chewing your wine instead of drinking it. Of course, less grapes per plant means less bottles produced means higher prices for you, so do not expect to pay less than $15 or so for old vine wines.
There are exceptions to that rule, and therein lies the problem with old vine wines: there are no legally defined specifications to determine what an "old vine" is. While most wineries seem to apply that term only when their vines are 50+ years old, certain shrewd (unscrupulous?) wineries have harnessed the growing consumer enthusiasm for old vine wines and have begun to apply that term to wines that are from significantly younger vines and do not have old vine characteristics. Unfortunately, as consumers we do not have many protections against purchasing these faux old vine wines. The best tips I can give are to 1) avoid large wineries with sophisticated marketing departments and 2) if a winery produces two or more zinfandels and they have an old vine zinfandel listed separately in their product line, then you should be safe.
In honor of Dan's arrival, I grabbed a bottle of 2006 Old Vine Zinfandel from the Klinker Brick Winery in Lodi, California - www.klinkerbrickwinery.com - at my new favorite bottle shop, Belmont Beverage, for about $16. The significance of this bottle is certainly not the Brick in the winery's name - which would be much more suitable if I was talking about our 2007 center, Larry Turner, instead of Dan. Rather, I chose this bottle because Dan's veteran savvy on the basketball court can be analogized to the complex characteristics that grapes grown on old vines contribute to a wine.
"Old vine" is a term used on wine labels to convey to the consumer that the grapes used for the wine were grown on mature vines. Most grape vines can live for 120 or so years, with their yields declining after the first 20 years. These declining yields make for not only smaller numbers of grapes, but smaller berries and fewer clusters, meaning more concentrated flavors, sugar and color. True to form, wines made from old vines are unbelievably good: they are rich and complex and make you feel like you should be chewing your wine instead of drinking it. Of course, less grapes per plant means less bottles produced means higher prices for you, so do not expect to pay less than $15 or so for old vine wines.
There are exceptions to that rule, and therein lies the problem with old vine wines: there are no legally defined specifications to determine what an "old vine" is. While most wineries seem to apply that term only when their vines are 50+ years old, certain shrewd (unscrupulous?) wineries have harnessed the growing consumer enthusiasm for old vine wines and have begun to apply that term to wines that are from significantly younger vines and do not have old vine characteristics. Unfortunately, as consumers we do not have many protections against purchasing these faux old vine wines. The best tips I can give are to 1) avoid large wineries with sophisticated marketing departments and 2) if a winery produces two or more zinfandels and they have an old vine zinfandel listed separately in their product line, then you should be safe.
As for the Klinker Brick, it was definitely in the category of Legitimate Old Vine Zinfandel. Deep color, huge nose and a finish that seemed to carry on for days. If you want to get a feel for old vine zinfandel at its best - and at an affordable price - this wine is a great option.
Jeff, I just discovered this Old Vine as well. Being so close to Lodi and them dumping so much on the market--I have been trying all sorts of Zin lately. I agree with you on this one..tasty for the price point--not the best, but for the price, good stuff. My wife says they make a Syrah--which I have to try that she enjoys. Thanks for the post!!
ReplyDeleteMy wife has a food post you may enjoy with you wife..http://coleskitch.blogspot.com/