Old Vine Zin from Four Vines Good Choice

A few postings back, I wrote about Vino 100 on the northside of Columbus, Ohio. I'll be making another stop this Friday but always enjoy visiting with Liz in her one-year old wine establishment.

Last time there I asked for a couple of recommendations on some really big wine. She pointed me to a California Syrah, which is still on the rack, and the Four Vines 2006 Old Vine Cuvee Zinfandel.

So I opened that one tonight while I started to prepare some pasta. It had been open about a half hour when I took a little sip and I didn't think much of it. It was a little all over the place - the fruit, the acidity .... but I decided it just might get better with a little time.

After it had been open a little over two hours, the wine opened up and was pretty good Zin. It was a big fruit-forward Zinfandel with hints of oak. I felt like the finish didn't have the pepper of some Zins but it was a good bottle of wine.

The Cuvee is made from grapes grown in California from the Mendocino, Amador, Paso Robles and Lodi regions.

I paid $14.95 for this bottle and would recommend it at that price point for those that like a little bigger Zin. Now, this isn't huge like some of the real fruit bombs California produces, but a bigger stronger wine than you normally find at this price point.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com