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Black Pepper Vine
Black Pepper Vine
A Wine Lover's Weekly Guide To $10 Wines - A Zinfandel From California
Zinfandel may well be America's only indigenous European-style grape variety. It makes fruity, powerful red wines. Yet approximately 85% of the time this red, red grape is vinified into a very popular rose wine known as White Zinfandel, one of which we reviewed quite recently. Don't let the colors confuse you; the present review is a red, red Zinfandel wine. You won't mistake it for a rose.
California has been producing Zinfandel wine since the 1850s. Believe it or not, some century-old Zinfandel grapevines are still producing wine grapes. Now the wine reviewed below comes from Sonoma County. Given its price range we are not surprised that its parentage is much younger vines. As you may guess, bargain wines don't come from old vines that produce relatively few, albeit flavorful grapes. You may want to compare this inexpensive Zinfandel with an old-vine Zin that may well cost over twice as much. In the meantime, you might well enjoy this wine produced under the Gallo Winery label by Rancho Zabaco, itself a century-old resident of Sonoma County. By the way, Sonoma County is the largest volume wine producer in California.
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review were purchased at the full retail price.
Wine Reviewed Dancing Bull Zinfandel 2007 14.2% alcohol about $10
Let's start by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting Note: Deep ruby with purple hues; aromas of toasty vanilla spice and blueberry compote; full-bodied, spicy, along with flavors of blueberry preserve. Serving suggestion: An excellent match with barbecue ribs. And now for my reactions.
At the first sips the wine was very powerful, both in alcohol and taste. It was quite fruity. The first pairing was with a grilled boneless rib steak that spent several days in a marinade consisting of ketchup, cumin, onion powder, black pepper, and some Middle Eastern spices. The side dishes were potato patties and a generous portion of tomato, lime, green pepper, and garlic salsa that was fairly spicy. With the steak the wine tasted of blueberries and jam with vanilla in the background. Of course, this Zinfandel wasn't subtle or multi-layered but it was definitely present. I went to the salsa as a palate cleanser. This Zinfandel took on a background role. Even when muted it did retain a lot of strength.
The next meal consisted of a grilled spicy, North African lamb sausage known as merguez accompanied by home-grilled eggplant. The meat was greasy and the eggplant somewhat oily. The wine tasted of plums and cut the grease. The eggplant bought out the oak. This Zinfandel was balanced in the sense that it was slightly too tannic and overly acidic but by no means unpleasant.
My final meal centered slow-cooked beef stew and potatoes. The wine was mouth-filling with a lot of extract. I tasted dark fruit and round tannins. It was almost chewy. Then I added a green jalapeno pepper mix to the meat. The wine was somewhat muted but by no means gutted.
I finished the bottle with two local cheeses. When it was paired with a Marbled Cheddar not a lot of the fruit came through. Things worked better with a Havarti. The wine was more powerful than before and once again I tasted the oak.
Final verdict. I would buy this wine again. Zinfandel is a barbecue wine. I'm sure that this offering can compete successfully with many in the $15 range.
Do You Like These Bands?
Theses are some of my favorite bands...
30 Seconds To Mars
AFI
Anthrax
Cobra Starship
Deftones
Disturbed
Envy On The Coast
Escape The Fate
Fall Out Boy
Flyleaf
Foo Fighters
Green Day
Halifax
Hawthorne Heights
HIM
I Am Ghost
Incubus
Kill Hannah
Linkin Park
Lucia Lie
Moving Rushmore
My Chemical Romance
Ok Go
Panic! At The Disco
Paramore
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Rise Against
System Of A Down
The Academy Is...
The Almost
The Black Year
The Classic Crime
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
The Used
The Vines
Underoath
Widespread Panic
Wolfmother
What are your top favorite bands out of these?
30 Seconds To Mars
AFI
AnthraxCobra Starship
Deftones
Disturbed
Envy On The Coast
Escape The Fate
Fall Out Boy
Flyleaf
Foo Fighters
Green Day
Halifax
Hawthorne Heights
HIM
I Am Ghost
Incubus
Kill Hannah
Linkin Park
My Chemical Romance
Ok Go
Panic! At The Disco
Paramore
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Rise Against
System Of A Down
The Academy Is...
The Almost
The Classic Crime
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
The Used
Underoath
those are my favorites; almost all of them you listed.
you have very good taste in music.
 Parameswaran's Organic Peppercorns On The Vine Sale Price: $10.95  Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days See Reviews For This Product DescriptionThe production of pepper of this quality is demanding and labor intensive. The various stages of production are supervised by Parameswaran, the owner of the small plantation in the Wynad District of Kerala, an area which has long been accepted as producing the finest quality of pepper in India-if not the world.Generally, pepper berries are ready for harvesting between late January and March; for ordinary commercial purposes it is customary to pick the berries green before they ripen. However, Parameswaran's pepper is a special quality, as the berries, instead of being picked green have been left to ripen fully. At this stage they are much more difficult to harvest, as each vine (which may grow up to 30 to 40 feet) requires up to a dozen pickings as the berries ripen. But the extra time and trouble taken is fully justified by the increased range and intensity of flavor. This "ripened" pepper, which has been organically grown without chemicals or artificial fertilizers, is of a very special quality and is, of necessity, in small supply since it is grown on a single estate.All the profit from sales goes back to the plantation, and a proportion of this is used for the benefit of the workers there.  |
 Parameswaran's Special Wynad Black Peppercorns, Small Jar See Reviews For This Product DescriptionParameswaran?s Black Pepper is a mixture of Karimunda and Panniyor varieties of the piper niger, specially selected for their flavor and quality. The vines grow up to 30 to 40 feet high on host trees (silver oaks) and are harvested only when fully ripened on the vine. A vine may be harvested 10 to 12 times by men who climb bamboo poles made specially to prevent damage to the vines. After drying and cleaning, the pepper is immediately vacuum packed and bagged on the plantation to preserve its peak flavor. The 2006 harvest of Parameswaran?s Special Wynad Black & White Peppers are now in stock! Grown on the small Parameswaran plantation estate in the Wynad plateau of Kerala, India, long known for producing the world?s finest pepper. Hand-harvested between January and March, these exquisite peppercorns are grown organically with no chemicals or artificial fertilizers. Brace yourselves, as this peppercorn explodes with intense peppery aroma and robust flavor unlike anything you?ve probably experienced before. *Check out the other peppers, salts, and chocolates at The Meadow on Amazon! We will automatically combine shipping on multiple items from The Meadow to give you cheaper shipping on multiple orders* Features
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