ZAP is this Saturday
ZAP, the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers, is throwing their annual Zinfandel Festival this week in San Francisco CA. I haven't been to one yet, but Sasha and Alder enthusiastically recommend it, so I'll be flying down to California and going to the general tasting on Saturday.
When I attend large events like this, my strategy is to pick a small subset of wines I'd like to focus on to the exclusion of all else.
For example, when I attended Pinot Days last summer, I knew I would be making a Pinot from Santa Lucia Highlands that Fall. Therefore, I only tasted those from either the Santa Lucia Highlands or Chalone (directly across the valley). By limiting what I drank, I was able to get a real feel for the region and not blow out my taste buds on wines I dind't have a pressing need to pay attention to. Of course I did make a few exceptions: I drank any Hirsch Vineyard Pinot's I found, because I know from having tasted Harrington's version, that these can be beyond good.
With ZAP this year, my focus will be on Zins from Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma and the Sierra Foothills (Amador and El Dorado Counties). Dry Creek is the source of Eno's 120 year old Ray Teldeschi vines, of which I'll be making a few cases. And the Sierra's have been putting out some nice (and less expensive) newer-vine Zins. (If you get a chance, stop by the Cederville Vineyards booth for a tasting, they've got a fantastic young Zin that just oozes fresh fruit. )