Valley of the Moon - Estate Old Vine Zinfandel 2003
I made a circuit of Sonoma County this weekend to plan and purchase a new shed. Going from the town of Sonoma to Rohnert Park, I came upon the Valley of the Moon winery.
Now I've been by this winery many times and never felt the urge to stop; but this time I had other urges. Those that Mother Nature won't easily let you forget.
In case you are unaware, wineries can have some of the best facilities for this kind of, um, urgency. The nicer the winery, the better the bathroom. Many enter from outside the tasting room making any pretense for tasting unnecessary. The Sonoma 21st century version of McDonald's for the hoi Paloi. And I thank them from the bottom of my ..er... heart.
But this winery is a pretty place, slightly off the main road, highway12. They have a large tasting room and bar, plenty of accessories to buy, and (shhhhh) free tasting for the regular brews. They also have the pricier stuff at $2 a taste, applied to the purchase of each wine tasted. Taste one, buy one, I guess.
I tasted some whites, including a lightly oaked Pinot Blanc that was sweeter than I prefer, to an almost unoaked Chardonnay with incredibly bright acidity that was surprisingly nice for the price. No butter here. If you're looking to put something on your bread, you're in the wrong place.
The Rosato di Sangiovese (rose' to most of us) is a delight. Not sweet, not acidic, tasty and nice. Drink cool.
In the $2 tastes I tried the Old Vine 2003 Zin. This is a big wine. I like the Old Vine Zins that develop extra flavors and sugar that stand up to spicy, greasy foods. Much like a good cab but cheaper. This wine was no exception. One rarely knows what "old" means in old vines, but it usually means flavor and body. The Valley of the Moon people say that these vines were planted in the 1940's making them older than me. And like me they have only gotten better with age.
Slightly syrupy on the palate, the Old Vine Zin is full, rich, and with the wonderful nose of Zinfandel fruit I would expect. At $25, it is properly priced for the market. You can't get more flavor for less. I'll be drinking this tonight with freshly ground chuck. Yum. 14.8% alchohol, for those of you keeping track.
Side note to winery owners: When hiring a web designer to build your website you have two basic options. Make the site functional and easy to use, with information quickly located; or submit to the whim of an over inflated ego of a designer and produce a website that is more an homage to the developer/designer, who apparently cares not a whit whether anyone can find anything or not.
Guess which one I'm for. This site makes a game out of finding the wines. Clicking on a row of gray faceless bottles (mainly by accident) you are slowly greeted by the plunging rhythms of the phallic bottle dance. Fun? If I'm bored... And since the wines are all (hidden) on one page, there is no way to actually search, well, anywhere for a particular wine. Not on Google, not on your site. Like I said an homage. Unfortunately, not to the winery.
If you need to reign in a web developer, call me. At my hourly rate I will club any over zealous designer into submission and get you a website for less, that does more. And if you make good wine, I make take part in trade.... I'll be the judge.
Save the fancy stuff for the brochures and things sold in the gift shop.
Just my 2 cents. Like the wine by the way!
Now I've been by this winery many times and never felt the urge to stop; but this time I had other urges. Those that Mother Nature won't easily let you forget.
In case you are unaware, wineries can have some of the best facilities for this kind of, um, urgency. The nicer the winery, the better the bathroom. Many enter from outside the tasting room making any pretense for tasting unnecessary. The Sonoma 21st century version of McDonald's for the hoi Paloi. And I thank them from the bottom of my ..er... heart.
But this winery is a pretty place, slightly off the main road, highway12. They have a large tasting room and bar, plenty of accessories to buy, and (shhhhh) free tasting for the regular brews. They also have the pricier stuff at $2 a taste, applied to the purchase of each wine tasted. Taste one, buy one, I guess.
I tasted some whites, including a lightly oaked Pinot Blanc that was sweeter than I prefer, to an almost unoaked Chardonnay with incredibly bright acidity that was surprisingly nice for the price. No butter here. If you're looking to put something on your bread, you're in the wrong place.
The Rosato di Sangiovese (rose' to most of us) is a delight. Not sweet, not acidic, tasty and nice. Drink cool.
In the $2 tastes I tried the Old Vine 2003 Zin. This is a big wine. I like the Old Vine Zins that develop extra flavors and sugar that stand up to spicy, greasy foods. Much like a good cab but cheaper. This wine was no exception. One rarely knows what "old" means in old vines, but it usually means flavor and body. The Valley of the Moon people say that these vines were planted in the 1940's making them older than me. And like me they have only gotten better with age.
Slightly syrupy on the palate, the Old Vine Zin is full, rich, and with the wonderful nose of Zinfandel fruit I would expect. At $25, it is properly priced for the market. You can't get more flavor for less. I'll be drinking this tonight with freshly ground chuck. Yum. 14.8% alchohol, for those of you keeping track.
Side note to winery owners: When hiring a web designer to build your website you have two basic options. Make the site functional and easy to use, with information quickly located; or submit to the whim of an over inflated ego of a designer and produce a website that is more an homage to the developer/designer, who apparently cares not a whit whether anyone can find anything or not.
Guess which one I'm for. This site makes a game out of finding the wines. Clicking on a row of gray faceless bottles (mainly by accident) you are slowly greeted by the plunging rhythms of the phallic bottle dance. Fun? If I'm bored... And since the wines are all (hidden) on one page, there is no way to actually search, well, anywhere for a particular wine. Not on Google, not on your site. Like I said an homage. Unfortunately, not to the winery.
If you need to reign in a web developer, call me. At my hourly rate I will club any over zealous designer into submission and get you a website for less, that does more. And if you make good wine, I make take part in trade.... I'll be the judge.
Save the fancy stuff for the brochures and things sold in the gift shop.
Just my 2 cents. Like the wine by the way!
posted by Don Strickler at 5:10 PM
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