Four Vines 2007 "Old Vine Cuvee" Zinfandel, California

A few nights ago, I made a spicy Chicken Tortilla Casserole (see Recipes) for dinner. We needed a wine that would stand up to a spicy dish so we stopped by Applejacks. I ran in and spoke to one of the wine guys (turned out to be the wine manager, Shaun, who I had not met previously) to get some recommendations. I told him that we were looking for some very dry reds that would complement a spicy dish. He pointed me to a Field Stone Alexander Valley Cab (review coming soon) and this Four Vines Zin.


Needless to say, I was initially skeptical about his recommendation of a Zin, much yet a California Zin, given that they are usually fruit bombs. Truth be told, I figured they were overstocked on this wine and the guy was getting a kickback from the distributor for pushing it (after all, I had never met him before).

Happily, I was completely wrong. I'm very glad I took his advice and tried this one because it's a fantastic wine with typical "beer foods" (pizza, chili, BBQ, etc.) and it perfectly complements spicy dishes. Jen and I were both pleasantly surprised to find it very dry, and non-jammy. It was subtle up front but very full bodied with a spicy, peppery finish.
This is an outstanding wine and given the $9.99 price, it will be a staple in our wine rack going forward.