August 10, 2017

Zen of Zin

School is back in session here in Georgia.  I wish that came with cooler weather and hints of fall, but the “almost” year round school calendar brings us back into session long before nighttime temperatures drop below sixty-five.

There’s something nostalgic about back to school shopping that includes sweaters, corduroy pants, and a new pair of winter shoes.  There should be a chill in the air while waiting for the school bus, the threat of frost not that far away, when you can see your breath in the air.

Football games and marching band practice should require extra layers of clothes, not volunteers managing watercoolers filled to the brim to keep kids and coaches from dehydration. 

Some of my friends kids look like they just got back from a week in the Bahamas instead of marching band camp.

But I digress.  I did choose to live in Georgia, after all, knowing full well how long and hot the summers can be.  And while I like to wax poetic about fall, I’ll run away after the second week of cold winter weather and wish for that Georgia heat.

However, I am going to write about a wine that makes me think of cooler weather. 

Zen of Zin.  It’s an Old Vine Zinfandel that you can find at most grocery stores.    It’s usually in the “other reds” section, like zinfandels haven’t yet earned their own shelf.  Pitty.  Zins are nice wines with a lot of personality.

This wine has a nose like a fresh raspberry jam.  Fruity, full, and inviting.  It’s heavy, full of fruit, and has a hint of chocolate.  Not too sweet, it does make me think about a desert wine.  I’d pair it with roasted chicken, Thanksgiving turkey, or even after dinner chocolate.

Very nice, and a great price point at $10.

It’s best first opened.  After even a single day of being opened, it starts to lose some of it’s complexity.

I’m going to take this bottle, a bag of Dove chocolates, turn Netflix onto the “fireplace” channel, turn the AC down, and pretend it’s late September in northwest Ohio.