It’s ZAP for Zinners

Allow me to transport you back in time--about 15 years or so--to the days when White Zinfandel had become big business and “red” Zinfandel had fallen from favor. White Zinfandel was so popular that people visiting wineries would ask to see the White Zinfandel grapes. They thought White Zinfandel was a particular grape, rather than a white or light pink wine made from light pressings of the red grape Zinfandel.

About that time, a small band of Zinfandel aficionados, holdovers from the ‘70s, decided that enough was enough and it was time to restore Zinfandel to its status as a valued red grape. This hearty band took as its motto: “The first obligation of wine is to be red.” None of that pink stuff for them.

Meetings were held, seminars were run, great minds got together and a movement was founded. Eventually, that movement took the name Zinfandel Advocates and Producers. Today, ZAP is one of the largest consumer-based wine advocacy groups in existence, and its promotional activities run year-round all over the country. An amazing 250 wineries belong.

ZAP’s most significant activity is the annual Zinfandel tasting that takes place in San Francisco the last week of January. Thousands of Zinfandel fanciers (this year’s attendance is expected to be nearly 8,000) come from all over the country to taste the new releases and barrel samples of the member wineries. They gather in the giant meeting halls (converted wharves) at Fort Mason on San Francisco’s northern waterfront, and there, with the Bay, Alcatraz, Marin County and the Golden Gate Bridge sparkling in front of them, they taste their way through as many of the hundreds of wines as they can in one afternoon of unrivaled opportunity.

I know of no wine-tasting event anywhere at which so many people sample so many wines. The hall is abuzz with commentary and analysis. New wineries’ wares get sampled next to such stalwarts as Ridge and Ravenswood and Rosenblum--the three R’s of Zinfandel. Limited production producers such as Brown, D-Cubed and Tria get their chance to challenge the big names, and often they are the hits of the tasting. For most of us, it is the first look we will get at our favorite producers’ ‘99s.

When the tasting finally ends and people file out, the debates begin in earnest. “Whose wine did you like?” “What is going on with the ’99 of this producer or that?” “Where should we go to dinner?” The ZAP event is not only a full day of Zinfandel-tasting but an opportunity to gather a group of friends and run off to one of San Francisco’s great restaurants so the comparison of tasting notes can continue.

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TASTING NOTES

Most wineries at the ZAP tasting pour their unreleased ‘99s, and it will be my first encounter with most of them. A few of the finished wines are now on the market, though, and the tasting notes below are for those. Furthermore, many of the wines below are the most basic wines of the producers. In many cases, the fancier blends will follow during the next year.

* 1999 Blockheadia Ringnosii, California, $16. It is hard not to be charmed by this wine’s fanciful name and artsy label. Fortunately, the contents of the bottle measure up. It’s a very ripe, fairly rich, relatively full-bodied and direct offering of good weight and depth, even if it misses a bit of the polish you can expect in pricier Zinfandels (the winery also offers a Napa Valley bottling, to be available by the time of the ZAP tasting).

$ 1999 Cline Cellars, California, $10. Cline’s ’98 California Zin was perhaps the bargain of its vintage. This one is not quite in the same league, but its straightforward berryish fruit still makes it a good buy. At the ZAP event, you should visit the Cline table to sample Cline’s vineyard-designated Zins, especially the Fulton Road, Live Oak and Big Break bottlings, which have shown well in past vintages.

* 1999 DeLoach Vineyards, Russian River Valley, $16. DeLoach is one of the few producers that releases all its new Zinfandels before the ZAP tasting. This year it has eight separate bottlings. I like this one for its deep fruit and rich oak. The DeLoach wine designated “California” is also worth trying; at $10, it’s a great buy. Also on tap at ZAP should be DeLoach’s vineyard-designated Zins, notably the Papera Ranch ($25) and the special bottling called OFS ($40).

$* 1999 Easton, Amador County, $12. This very likable, fairly deep, nicely fruity bottling is also the winery’s basic model wine. It is perhaps the biggest bargain among the less expensive wines. The winery also makes the deep, solid, age-worthy 1998 Estate Bottled Zinfandel, $30.

1999 Joel Gott, California, $14. I find this wine a bit too ripe and brawny to be released so young, but I have friends who just love that character and have bought it for their house Zin. Go for this one if the bold, muscular style of young Zin is for you.

* 1999 Harrison Vineyards “Zebra Zin,” Napa Valley, $21. This very rich but much too young wine is on the stiff and slightly ragged side, and its ripe berry and sweet oak aromas and flavors are lying in wait for another day. It’s a good wine to cellar because it should emerge in much more inviting form after a few years.

$* 1999 Seghesio Vineyards, Sonoma County, $13. Wines like this make me optimistic for the 1999 vintage. We know the grapes were very late in maturing, and many wines will come with more tangy acid than normal, but if this wine is a good gauge, Seghesio’s pricier bottlings (Cortina, Old Vines and San Lorenzo--look for them at the ZAP tasting) could be very special indeed.

* 1999 Sin Zin, Alexander Valley Vineyards, Alexander Valley, $18. Frankly, I could do without the silly name, but the wine in the bottle is first rate, starting with blackberry fruit and rich oak, and ending with a smooth and balanced finish that makes it enjoyable even this young.

For more information about ZAP, have a look at its Web site, https://www.zinfandel.org or write to ZAP, P.O. Box 1487, Rough & Ready, CA 95975.

Symbols

*** A world-class wine, superb by any measure, the top 1% to 2% of all wines tasted.

** An exceptional wine, well worth the effort to find, 10% to 12% of wines tasted.

* An admirable wine, tasty, focused, attractive, about 25% of wines tasted.

No rating: The best are quite pleasant and can be good buys when moderately priced.

$ Good value for the money.

X Below average quality, to be avoided.