I purchased and tried this Mettler Family Zinfindal because a wine rep friend suggested it, and it was amazing!  I went to a wine tasting event at Corner Wines in Plano.  If you haven’t been to this cool wine shop you really should check it out, they’ve got a great selection to chose from.

Since I had never heard of the Mettler Family Vineyards before I went and checked out their website.  Apparently they really know their wine.  Their family has been a part of the wine industry back to the 1770s in the Lodi Valley.

To ensure the wines they produce are of the highest quality they only produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel.

This Zinfandel was full of flavor or as they say on their website, full of personality.  Being the bad wino I sometimes am, I haven’t used my decanter in forever, but decided to get it out for this wine.  Each glass got better and better!

I will definitely be buying this wine again and highly recommend you give it a try as well.  Now I just need to track down their Cabernet and see if it is as good as the Zinfandel.

Thanks Rino for recommending this wine I really enjoyed it!  Sorry I drank it without you!

Two Zins in a row. . .who would have thought. I tend to always lean towards Cabernets, as you can probably tell. Matt & Lacee discovered and introduced me to the Layer Cake Primitivo.

Primitivo is the Italian name for Zinfandel. Supposedly the Primitivo grapes are a product of reverse migration from California to Italy. Zinfandel grapes are one of the most largely planted grapes in the US, but that is because of the popularity of White Zinfandel. This surprises me as I don’t know anyone who likes White Zen and because I associate it with being a “newbie” wine drinker. At least it’s what I drank when I was a “newbie.”

The name Layer Cake comes from the bottler’s grandfather, I believe. He described the soil in which wine grapes grow a layer cake. He went on to say, according to the back of the label, that if wine is properly made, it is like a great layer cake, fruit, mocha and chocolate, hints of spice and rich, always rich.

I found this wine to be very smooth, despite being a “Zinfandel;” it reminds me quite a bit of a Cab. The one big drawback for me is that this is a screw cap bottle. If you know me, you know I am a big collector of corks. But I still want to give the other Layer Cake wines: Malbec, Syrah and Cotes du Rhone.

My friend Kandice did a wine o. wednesday post today as well and came up with a good idea, a wine club. The idea is that I will tell you what I am drinking so that you can drink it along with me and leave your comments about the wine. Sound like fun? If so, next week’s wine is going to be the Fat Bastard Merlot. I almost won this at a Christmas Party and have wanted to try it ever since. So go out and get yourself a bottle and let’s chat next week. (P.S. If you live in the Dallas area I know World Market carries it for right around $10.)

Simply Zinful is the way I would describe tonight’s wine selection. It has some serious kick to it. It is the 2002 Zinfandel from the Rios Lovell Winery in Livermore, CA.

This is actually my sister Beth’s wine and I stole a glass for the second time this week. She opened the wine on Saturday and she let me have a glass to try it. Then she was nice enough to let me have another glass tonight so that I could accurately blog about it. Okay, to be honest, I just wanted a glass of wine tonight. He he.

The first glass I had was a little overwhelming to me, for my tastes. It had a serious spicy kick to it. But the second glass, despite still being spicy was surprisingly smooth this time around.

My aunt and uncle were out in Livermore for a wedding in December of 2007 and picked up a bottle of wine for both Beth and I when they visited the winery. My bottle the 2003 Estate Merlot didn’t last too long in the house. But Beth patiently let her bottle age another year.

If you are into spicy wines, I definitely recommend giving this one a try. And if you are in the Livermore area, this winery looks really nice. Check out: Rios Lovell.