Saturday – Wine driving the food – Part1

I picked up a few bottles that were of interest to me and decided to plan our Saturday night dinner menu around them. The first bottle of wine was a 2006 Ridge Sonoma County Three Valleys. The Three Valley is a blend of 80% Zinfandel, 10% Petit Syrah, 5% Carignan, 5% Grenache. As the main bulk of the blend is Zinfandel, I decided to use that as my basis for pairing and went with Carrot soup with fire roasted chilies.

"Ah, Carrot Soup!"

The clarity of the Three Valleys was extremely high and it looked a bit thin in colour for what you’d expect from a Zinfandel. Huge blackberry on the nose with coffee/cocoa and eucalyptus notes in the background. Tasting the wine, the first thing that you notice is a dried cherry taste followed by a velvety smooth finish. The structure of the wine was very good with nice balance between tannin, acidity and alcohol. This wine was a very easy drinking wine; you could serve this to someone who isn’t a big red wine fan and probably have good results. The wine reminded me more of a Cabernet Sauvignon than a Zinfandel as it was very subtle and not a giant fruit bomb like Zins can be.

"Not a pure Zinfandel, but a really good wine!"

The Three Valleys was also a very good pairing with the soup.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

Ridge Three Valleys 2006

Vintages 652875

750 mL bottle

Price: $ 29.95

Wine, Red Wine,

14.3% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : XD

Made in: California/Californie, United States

By: Ridge Vineyards

Release Date: Dec 6, 2008

Tasting Note - [80% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, 5% Carignan, 5% Grenache] One of the friendliest Ridge zins we've tasted in a long time, this is exuberant and focused on fresh black cherry flavors. It has a cool, foresty feel to balance the tannins and their lasting spice. Give those tannins anything meaty, especially slow-smoked ribs. Score - 93. (Wine & Spirits, June 2008)

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 88, Mark – 90, Kathy – 88, Amy – 89, Overall – 88.75.

Click here for Part 2.