Californian Zinfandel

I am so cross. Six of us completely wasted an hour of our time tasting six disgusting wines. To be fair, one was reasonable, but I would never, ever buy a bottle of it. I’m sure the wines were perfectly well made, but it appears that at no time did anyone ask whether it would be enjoyable to drink them. What makes me really, really mad is that the problem can very easily be remedied with equipment that the winemakers probably already own or can hire for a reasonable cost. The problem in question is alcohol. Now, obviously, one of the reasons that wine tastes so good is because of the alcohol.

However, over the last 5-10 years because of global warming and the fashion for riper, fruitier wines leading to the grape growers encouraging sun exposure, sugar levels in picked grapes have been rising. During fermentation, sugar is converted to alcohol, so alcohol levels are also rising. This much I understand. At the same time winery technology has been whirring and bleeping and has come up with two systems for reducing alcohol in wines without losing any of the character.

So, why the flippin’ heck don’t they use them? The wines we tasted were burningly hot having the post-swallow effect of neat gin. They were dreadful and I would heartily recommend you give them a wide berth. As a result, I’ve ordered myself an alcohol measuring gizmo because I can’t belief the strengths printed on the bottles.

The wines that I am not even prepared to discuss are: Ravenswood Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel, Ravenswood Vintners Blend Zinfandel, Asda’s own label Reserve Zinfandel, Rancho Zabaco’s Dancing Bull and Gallo Turning Leaf. The Asda offering was the worst, but it was half the price of the others and so had half the taste, but the same amount of burn, which made it appear even more shockingly dire. The leftovers are only suitable for cooking and then only very rich foods.

The only reasonably pleasant exception was Fetzer Valley Oaks Zinfandel 2003, which is £6.99 from Morrisons and a mere 13.5%. It smelt herbally of ripe plum syrup and some vanilla. It tasted oaky with nice gritty tannins and we could actually taste the wine because our poor little tongues weren’t melting.

At last, there appears to be a move in the right direction. Apparently M&S are now aiming to source more wines at 12.5% - hooray! Also, Tesco are stocking a pair of McGuigan wines at 9.5%. McGuigan Lower Alcohol Chardonnay 2006, which is £5.99 in 182 Tesco stores has an attractively fruity, slightly tropical smell. Very good balance in the mouth with no burn, and yet it tastes as good as “normal” wine. It has a pleasant pineapple finish. The Lower Alcohol Shiraz 2006 smells of baked and sweet dark fruits and is quite sweet and fruity in the mouth. Again, the wine’s balance is just right.

I know there are still people in wine aisles checking out the alcohol and picking the strongest in the belief that quality is measured in this way. The only things that alcohol over 13% is good for is falling over or removing sticky marks.

Californian Zinfandel

© Copyright 2007 Mel Jones