This pleasant Zinfandel is a blend of fruit from three counties — San Joaquin, Sonoma and Lake. I’ve seen this in a few Zins over the past year, and it seems to be a good play. Ripe brambly fruit from San Joaquin, where it’s crazy hot, pepper and structure from Sonoma, where it’s cooler, and some spice and cherry from Lake. Put them all together and you get a complex yet approachable Zinfandel that will work with summer grilled meats or moderate strength cheeses. It helps that it’s widely distributed as well.
Ghost Pine, California (United States) Zinfandel 2014
By Rich Cook