wine list revisited

i was late for our dinner reservation and suggested that jill pick a bottle from the list; this was a understated celebration so it needed to be a nice bottle. jill has an innate ability to make good choices from wine lists. she knows what tastes and regions she likes, and has a preference for more fruit forward wines. the restaurant is one of our predictable standards and has an interesting although limited wine list. the meals are a wild range of flavors, from mild fish to southwestern spice. it is a predictable bet that the tardy partner will have something spicy, such as tuna tartare and bean soup. what to choose?

none of the white wines on the menu match this meal. a racy sparkling blanc de noir or cremant brut rose would be nice, but they are not options (i file that away for use this summer when grilling tuna). pinot noir is an interesting match with spice, but none were seemingly "big" enough. our cab preferences are too limited so nothing matched on the list. then of course, there were the zinfandel options. i regard zinfandel as an "american" wine, although it clearly has an european genetic heritage. jill went the route of a 2006 zinfandel.

the wine and i arrived at the same time, and the meal as anticipated was ordered. this was a perfect match. the wine was dark. it had aromas of blackberry, curry spices, and creme de cassis; i appreciated a hint of white pepper as well. the taste was superlative with black cherry fruit, spice, and a hint of smoke. the tannins were perfectly balanced and the finish was soft. the wine was subtle when its high alcohol content is considered. with food its flavors evolved and complimented the varied tastes of the meal.

the mark-up for this bottle was entirely reasonable. when shopping it on line it would appear that the 2006 is quite limited in availability and that prices ranged from about $24 to $32; it is not available in pennsylvania but it is available on line elsewhere. this was an excellent choice for this meal and demonstrates how to pick a wine from the list.

the wine is RAVENSWOOD BIG RIVER ZINFANDEL ALEXANDER VALLEY, 2006. ravenswood has a history of producing excellent zinfandel at a reasonable price. this was a spectacular bottle, but my impression is that future vintages of this wine will equal it. having had other zin's produced by them, i would regard ravenswood as a consistent producer year in and year out from a variety of sites; when one sees this on the wine list i feel it is a safe bet for an excellent bottle. jill made a great choice following a few basic rules and her own instincts.

i am quite fond of the wines by ravenswood and have never been disappointed. their web site is:

www.ravenswoodwinery.com