Zinfandel tasting event in Dallas on Thursday better than expected

by Teresa Gubbins

Zinfandel Advocates & Producers Dallas event had its own dedicated program guide.

Zinfandel Advocates & Producers came to the Tower Club in Dallas on Thursday to spread the word of zinfandel in two sessions: one for the trade to acquaint wine buyers with the latest vintages; and another for the public where, for $45, patrons got to taste nearly 90 zinfandels and nibble on snacks prepared by a small but prestigious posse of Dallas chefs.

ZAP is:

a non-profit, educational organization, dedicated to advancing public knowledge of and appreciation for American Zinfandel and its unique place in our culture and history. Winegrowers, winemakers, and wine enthusiasts combine to form the membership. The common focus is the preservation and recognition of Zinfandel as America's heritage wine. ZAP's membership includes approximately 300 winery-members, 6,000 advocate-members and 50 associate members.

Cosponsored by the Wine & Food Foundation of Texas, the Dallas stop was part of a tour that also included Atlanta, with similar tastings scheduled later this year for Seattle and Portland.

Zinfandel Grand Tasting May 14

(Click photo to see entire gallery)

Taft Street Winery sales manager Paul Hecht. Taft is a small winery based in Sebastopol in California's Sonoma County, whose total output is 1400 cases, with bottles retailing at about $22.

Chefs who got drafted to serve hors d'oeuvres included Nana at The Hilton Anatole chef Anthony Bombaci, who made grilled duck breast with orange-red fruit vinaigrette and blue cheese ice cream; Lola the Restaurant chef David Uvgur, who served slow-cooked pork with tuna mayonnaise; Zymology Dallas chef Sam Dickey, who dished out mole-braised pork shoulder with Swiss chard on currant rosemary bread; Bolla/the Stoneleigh Hotel chef David Bull, who prepared beef short ribs with Parmesan potatoes and caramelized onions; and "free-lancer" Tre Wilcox, who did grilled shrimp with chipotle Jack cheese grits.

There was also a table of cheese from the Irish Dairy Board and some brownies cut into bite-size chunks at the coffee station.

Participating wineries ran the gamut from big guns such as Rancho Zabaco and Ravenswood to small boutiqueries such as Selby to companies that buy grape juice and bottle it, such as Wine Guerrilla.

The big ZAP event takes place in San Francisco every January, where it's such a huge draw that attendees are consigned to wait in long lines for tiny pours. But the Dallas public event drew about 200; and with 33 wineries on hand, there were virtually no lines at all.