Tuesday night Beth and I traveled to Haddonfield, NJ to meet up with some of Beth's high school friends. Fast forward to the latter part of the evening; there's an empty bottle of Riesling, an empty bottle of Pinot Gris, an empty half-bottle of Sharrott's cranberry wine (yes, made from 100% New Jersey cranberries), and a half empty bottle of DiMatteo's Pasquale Red, a local sweet blend of Concord and Ives (think Welch's with a big kick), all resting on Maria and Jim's beautiful brand new granite countertop.
It was a great night of sweet wine and sweet conversation, often about wine. So, as the evening was winding down and Maria asked, "do you like Zin's?" After the consumption I witnessed, I responded with, "Red?"
Maria then left the room, I'm assuming to some secret wine stash, a cellar perhaps? and returned with a beautifully labeled bottle of Whitesnake Zin, (which, oh, btw, she designed) for us to take home. Free wine? Oh gosh, I couldn't.
Gotta admit, I don't know much about Whitesnake. I floored Beth by admitting I hadn't seen the video to "Here I Go Again," because, 1.) I'm much younger than she, and B.) I grew up believing that inside every cablebox lived the devil.
I guess I had pretty low expectations for the bottle, because I was floored by its quality. Great nose, big initial cherry, peppery pop with a long, smooth finish. Wow, a very tasty wine. It was after all, an 08 Russian River Valley Zin. It should be solid, right? My only issue is that I had it without food, and I think it's a bigger wine that would have gone really well with a steak. My fault.
Hey Bompensa's, next time we visit, how about less of the sweet stuff and more Whitesnake Zin, huh?
Grade: B+ (Projected grade with said steak: A-)
Beth's Grade: B
