Don’t Let Zin Steal Your Heart Away …

Many moons ago I attended my first San Diego Bay Food and Wine Classic and went to a Zinfandel tasting panel where I had the eye-opening experience of learning that not all Zins are fruit and alcohol bombs. Darn! That’s what I went there for!  Ha Ha.. No seriously, Zin has been marginalized for way too long. And there’s isn’t a better winemaker than Carol Shelton of Carol Shelton Wines in spreading the gospel of great Zin.

And the SDBFW classic knows it can’t go wrong when it had Santa Rosa’s Shelton pouring her wines at their Grand Decant at the Intercontinental Hotel on Friday, Nov 15 and the next day on Sat Nov 16th at their Grand Tasting. Since I love Zin, thought it’d be fun to get Carol to do the NSI quiz. Cheers.

What was last night’s dinner?    Leftover Annie’s White Cheddar Mac ‘n Cheese with cherry tomatoes—we make a triple batch so I can just heat it up when I come home tired.

Favorite drink?   Cran Raspberry in water, about 1:3—with Tangerine LaCroix seltzer water if I am feeling festive.  Cannot drink much alcohol during harvest or I will fall asleep on the couch…really fast!

Favorite dining spot in Santa Rosa?  In Santa Rosa, we love to eat at Jackson’s Bar & Oven in Rail Road Square or the new Willi’s Wine Bar or the new Sweet T’s Restaurant & Bar in Windsor….

Favorite music?   Steely Dan during harvest, or maybe reggae, but it gets old after several hours.

Favorite thing about living and working in Santa Rosa?  GREAT food, superb music, close to redwoods and ocean as well…we have it ALL!

Any brush with celebrity?   The crew of CSI (original) got bottles of our vino for Christmas for a few years—I talked to the producer, Gary Glasberg, myself on the phone.  He had a signed photo of Abby (crazy Goth lab rat) sent to us!

Monga Zin

What makes a great winery?  Good team of people with no huge egos, folks who care about making a really quality wine and providing a terrific experience for our consumers…and of course good grapes, good sanitation, attention to detail every step of the way.

Any wine, meal or place to visit on your bucket list?   

To eat:  Shakewell in Oakland. To visit:  more of Italy, back to Japan

Final thoughts?  Have to get back to work now—the yeasts are waiting!