Thanks to all who wrote about your preference between cabernet sauvignon and pinot noir. Here’s where I stand on the issue. When I was a young man, I was total cab. I liked the big drink with all those tannins. As I got older, my taste changed. Now I prefer the softer — may I say more feminine? — pinot. If I were having a steak, I still would go for a cab. But I would drink a pinot with duck, chicken, pork. It’s just a matter of personal taste. They are obviously two glorious grapes.
This is the stuff I think about on my vacation.
Michael S.
Lowell, what about Syrah? High quality, abundant variety of styles, actually still affordable in California.
August 4th, 2012 4:03 pm
CohnZohn
Michael S, Thanks for mentioning Syrah. I like it and buy it, but I don’t know it as well as the other two. I have more expertise with zinfandel, which I like a lot even with all the high alcohol. I like Dry Creek Zins and Alexander Valley Zins and even the monsters from Lodi.
August 4th, 2012 4:06 pm
Michael S.
Zins are terrific too. Being a South Bay guy I’m a big fan of the hometown Ridge Zins and Zin blends.
My uncle lived in SLO so I spent a lot of time near Paso Robles and Santa Barbara County right around the time their Rhone output took off. Highly recommended to barnstorm the area if you have a chance.
August 4th, 2012 4:15 pm
CohnZohn
Michael S, Funny you should mention Ridge. I appreciate Ridge wines and respect them and like them. A few weeks ago Mrs. Cohn Zohn, Grant, a friend of Grant’s and I schlepped up that mountain above Cupertino to visit the Ridge tasting room. (I have tasted at Ridge in Sonoma County.) Maybe the Ridge people were having a bad day, but they pretty much ignored us. When the man behind the counter asked for the ID of Grant and his friend (yes, Grant still gets carded), he said, “Before we go any further, show me your IDs.”
There’s probably a less confrontational way to ask that question.
I usually buy at a tasting room, especially when the wine is as good as Ridge’s. But I/we didn’t buy that day. We just got into the car and drove back down the mountain.
August 4th, 2012 4:22 pm
B
I second Michael S’s mention of Syrah. When I want something big, I reach for Syrah time and time again. For Pinot lovers, finding a Syrah from the Sonoma Coast, where they style is leaner, is a gateway drug.
I love Syrah from the Central Coast, however. Beckmen and Stolpman make great Syrah.
August 4th, 2012 4:24 pm
CohnZohn
B, Can you give us names of a few Sonoma Coast Syrahs you like. I would be interested in trying them. Thanks.
August 4th, 2012 4:28 pm
Dennis
What I have learned, talking to winemakers, is that if you want to make good wine you need to start with great juice. There are only 5 vineyards in the Paso Robles area that grow great juice. Any wine made from grapes produced in these vineyards has a tendency to be very good unless the winemaker completely screws it up. What I would suggest is that while you are in Sonoma ask which vineyards are the best and buy wines made from grapes in those vineyards. You will never go wrong.
August 4th, 2012 4:50 pm
Gary
Alpha Omega in Napa makes a glorious Cab.
August 4th, 2012 5:16 pm
Dennis
Since we are talking about wine, if you want a great book on the evolution of fine wine in California, I strongly recommend “The House of Mondavi” if you haven’t already read it. It is about the life of Robert Mondavi who is credited with creating the fine wine industry in California. Before him Blue Nun was about as good as it got.
August 4th, 2012 5:40 pm
NeverWrong
@dennis You must mean that Robert Mondavi TOOK the credit. And Blue Nun is a German wine.
August 4th, 2012 9:14 pm
Dennis
NeverWrong, Read the book and you tell me.
August 4th, 2012 10:42 pm
Brian in Oakland
Both Cab and Pinot are wonderful. It seems to me that most of the comments favoring or not favoring cab were observations of young cabs: big, high alcohol, bold. Like a sledgehammer. But Cab is also one of the great aging grapes, in part because as it ages, it softens and allows more of the subtle notes to come through — much like the way folks on here have described Pinot’s complexity, which I find shows much younger. I know, who has the time to age wine? But I often will buy 3 or more of a wine I like and drink one now, then wait a year or two for the next and so on. That way I get the instant gratification but also get to taste the wine in many phases.
As much as I love and Pinot, Cabs with 6 to 10 years or more on them rock my world just as much.
August 5th, 2012 1:09 am
lameduck
I used to drink a great Petite Syrah from Granite Springs winery in the Foothills. I wonder about that winery as years ago it was my favorite.
August 5th, 2012 7:47 pm
Gopal
I bought some petit syrah from Sonoma last time i went tasting.
I generally prefer zins, but like pinot noir too. Really good pinot is much pricier than good zin though.
August 6th, 2012 4:43 am
Brotha Tuna
@Lowell
If you go up to the Santa Cruz Mtns again, try Testarossa. Outstanding Pinot Noir, Syrah and Chardonnay mostly from the Santa Lucia Highlands district in Monterey County.
August 6th, 2012 7:49 am
Streetglide
From ’84-’86, I put myself through Sonoma State working the tasting rooms at DeLoach and later Mazocco Vineyards. Wine has been a big deal in my life for years and I still enjoy a glass or two with dinner.
.
Living near the Sierra foothills, Zins are my current favorite. Cabs were the ’70s, Pinots the ’80s, Nihonshu (sake) the ’90s and early 21st Century. These days a good Zin from Amador or Lodi are my favorites. Lodi? Yup… the delta breezes keep the region cool in the evenings preventing the grape sugar from spiking. There are some lovely wines coming from this region.
.
The Campus Oaks 2008 Zin from Lodi is a big seller at C****o. For nine bucks you get a huge wine that has won more gold than the Chinese Olympic team. I like Lodi wines and recommend a trip into the delta to taste some the offerings from that region as well. The old sugar mill in Clarksburg is a wonderful place to start; nice place for a picnic as well…
August 6th, 2012 8:26 am