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Wine Details
Price:
$19.00 per bottle
Description:
The Nadeau Family Vintners' 2003 "Late Harvest" Zinfandel is another big, blockbuster Zin which is made for after-dinner quaffing. While somewhat sweet, the balance of sugar, acid, and oak have yielded a wine fit for chocolate truffles, strong blue-type cheeses, or a fine dark-wrapped cigar (for smoking, not eating!). Both lots of grapes for this wine were dry-farmed and head-pruned, and the wine reflects this. Its 100% Zinfandel. With its jammy, sweet cherry-fruit aromas and flavors, this wine is an ideal accompaniment to chocolate desserts and stimulating conversation.
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Varietal Definition
Zinfandel:
Zinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California wine vineyards. DNA fingerprinting revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kaštelanski, and also the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in the 'heel' of Italy. It is typically made into a robust red wine. Its taste depends on the ripeness of the grapes from which it is made. Red berry fruits like raspberry predominate in wines from cooler areas such as the Napa Valley, whereas blackberry, anise and pepper notes are more common in wines made in warmer areas such as Sonoma County. Many Zinfandels come from head pruned ‘Old Vines’. ‘Old Vine’ is generally understood to mean a vine that is more than 50 years old and that produces less than three tons per acre. ‘Head Pruning’ is an old European style of pruning that trains the vine into the shape of a goblet. It requires no wires or other complex trellis systems. Head pruning spreads the fruit uniformly along the vine and allows light penetration.In the USA a semi-sweet Rosé (blush-style) wine called ‘White Zinfandel’ has achieved widespread popularity. In fact, this popularity has so outstripped all other forms that many fans think there is actually a grape called “White Zinfandel” (there isn’t)!
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