1/28/10

ZAP!

The room is serenely quiet; but 26 floors below, San Francisco buzzes with street life. Walking through downtown, one hears the hum of the city, the shrill call of an ambulance, the clang of cablecars, bits of conversation in many languages in this city that is #8 on the list of tourist destinations worldwide.  SF is a foodies dreams with excellent restaurants of every ethnicity and pricing. Imagine being able to sample tidbits from 50 different restaurants of the Bay Area in one night--each prepared to match a specific Zinfandel! One of the delectable perks in working in the wine business is attending the Zinfandel Advocates & Producers (ZAP) annual event in San Francisco for free. Thanks to Touring & Tasting, we have an elegant room in the Intercontinental Hotel with panoramic views of the city and bay glittering beyond two walls of floor to ceiling glass.
Tonight was the "Good Eats and Zinfandel Pairing" with around 50 wineries pouring their Zin at Fort Mason, each with a individual recipe created by a chef--a foodie's paradise! Some of my favorites were the gougères (see my post 3/26/09 for a recipe for these French delicacies) with hand-cut bacon by the Gamba Estate Restaurant (pictured below) paired with the Gamba 2007 Estate Old Vine Zin from the Russian River; the ravioli with shitake and crimini mushrooms in a cream black truffle sauce from
Pazzo in Petaluma with the Starry Night 2007 Old Vine Nervo Station from Alexander Valley; and the French Onion Soup with Cipolla Onion and Gruyere--a bit delicate for the zesty flavors of Zin, but a beautiful dish prepared by Taste of the Sierra Foothills--a restaurant that was give the Wine Spectator "Award of Excellence" in 2008 and 2009. I don't pretend to be a wine critic--but to my taste, the best Zin was from the Mounts Family Winery who has been growing Zin in Dry Creek Valley for over 50 years. Zin is like Cabernet Sauvignon in one can really taste the terroir in the wine. Dry Creek Valley in northern Sonoma County is home to many stellar wineries, producing old vine Zin as well as noted Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Saturday is the Grand Zinfandel Tasting with over 200 wineries, so stay tuned!

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