Wine and Life, part 1

Decided I'll take a slightly different approach to this wine blogging thing. For the most part, I think most folks who read this really just want to know, is it any good, and what does it cost. But I think people also read for the same reason we obsess over our friends facebook/twiiter, etc status updates - we love a little insight into everyone's daily lives. So, I'm still going to write about wine, but I also hope to relate it to a little more about my life in general.

Tonight I'm drinking a California Zinfandel that I really really like, especially at the $7 it goes for. It's called Dancing Bull and is an 07 Vintage. Get some, soon! The funny thing about Zinfandel is it's the variety that so many of us start out on when we first try wine - not exactly the kind like Dancing Bull, but rather that old sweetie White Zinfandel. If you're not aware, White Zin is made from the same grape as Zinfandel, but as it ferments it's not allowed to stay "on the skin" long so it only picks up a bit of pink color and the winemaker stops the fermentation process before all the sugar converts to alcohol, so you're left with a sweeter, lower alcohol wine. Perfect for all the new wine drinkers. As much as I would disdain drinking White Zin today, I do hold a fond memory of one bottle of the stuff. Several years ago (pre-kid days) my wife and I took a vacation to Charleston, SC - an absolutely wonderful town. It was our first time there and we both loved the mix of history, charm and coastal atmosphere. On our first evening in town we had dinner at a seafood place called Hyman's right on the main street in town. Of course, being new to wine and knowing that "seafood should go with a white", we ordered a bottle of White Zin. Dinner was fabulous and man that bottle went down great! It's funny how things like that stick out to you even years later - for some reason my wife and I often think about that dinner and what a great time we had just enjoying Charleston and being on vacation together that night. And we still laugh about how much we loved that White Zin.

Well, if you're newer to wine, I totally encourage you - get a bottle of White Zin, learn to love it. Just promise you'll continue to explore the wine world from there! Anyway, I look forward to sharing more in the days to come.