The Federalist Zinfandel: A Triad of Styles and Regions

We have written about The Federalist Wines in the past and now their portfolio includes three Zinfandel wines from popular California appellations - AVA's mostly dominated by old-vine zinfandel.  And with Halloween approaching, we sampled these wines with three versions of the popular Snickers bars.

The Federalist 2016 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel ($17.99)
According to the Winegrowers of Dry Creek Valley, "though Dry Creek Valley grows more than than 30 different grape varieties, at the heart of our appellation is zinfandel. Dry Creek Valley’s AVA, just 16 miles long and two miles wide, is home to one of the densest concentrations of old vine zinfandel in the world". The vineyard for these grapes resides in the southern edge of Dry Creek Valley just a mile from the Russian River. The river provides cooling morning fog which extends the growing season by slowly maturing the grapes.  The wine provides toasted chewy fruit, firm tannins, slight white pepper and a tad of heat from the 15.5% abv. The standard Snickers bar provided a nice companion taming the tannins.

The Federalist 2016 Lodi Zinfandel ($17.99)
The Lodi AVA provides some of the oldest Zinfandel plantings with some considered to be Ancient Vineyards. Within this appellation, there is also an interesting east-west dichotomy within the Mokelumne River sub-AVA. The east side contains lower water tables which along with the sandier soils equate to smaller berries and clusters. On the other hand, west of Hwy. 99 the vineyards are sandy loam with generous amounts of finely crushed granite washed down from the Sierra Nevadas. This translates to darker, firmer, zestier, flavorful east side red wines in contrast to the softer, rounder, less aggressively flavored west side wines. I'm not sure from what side the grapes for this wine were grown, but its character suggests the west side as it is creamy and round with firm but very approachable tannins. The peanut butter Snickers complements the wine by providing a little more texture.


The Federalist 2016 Bourbon Barrel Aged Zinfandel ($21.99)
The Mendocino County appellation is located due north of Sonoma and is part of the larger North Coast AVA that spreads northward from San Francisco Bay. According to Mendocino Winegrowers, "Mendocino's Zinfandels are known for their rich, dark color scheme, medium to high tannin levels and a higher alcohol content...". The grapes in this wine were aged six months in American Oak barrels then an additional six months in used bourbon barrels. This process provides just a subtle hint of bourbon and heat - slight vanilla and caramel that blends nicely with an almond Snickers. The finish is tannin structure is solid yet very approachable.




Disclosure: We received samples from Terlato Wines in order to share our opinion about their products, but this isn’t a sponsored post.

The Federalist American Craft Wine and Candy

During a recent #BevfluenceExperience in Denver our group experimented pairing various wines with candy: Whoppers, Oreos, Twizzlers, Skittles, and several chocolates and candy bars. This is a fun concept where some items paired seamlessly and others terribly. Here are two examples from The Federalist American Craft Wine brand. 

The Federalist Honest Red Blend ($19.99)  is branded for Honest Abe Lincoln and is a blend of Merlot, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon from three northern California appellations.  This is a friendly fruit-forward wine, medium-bodied with dark fruit, spices, and approachable tannins. We found that crunchy candy such as Twix and Oreos worked best here as the cookie brought worth the fruit and tannins.

The Federalist Cabernet Sauvignon Lodi 2016 ($17.99) is branded for Ben Franklin, who today is popular in the meme culture where various quotes regarding wine and beer are attributed to colonial hero.  Lodi's most widely harvested grape is Cabernet Sauvignon so the brand owner's selected an appropriate wine region for this wine. It is a lighter-bodied wine with juicy fruit, some spice, and easy tannins.  But add a Hersheys dark chocolate nugget to the lineup and the wine builds texture and the spices become more pronounced.  Not true for milk chocolate, however, Nor an Oreo and Twix bar. Dark Chocolate is the pairing for The Federalist Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon.

Disclosure: We received samples from Federalist Wines in order to share our opinion about their products, but this isn’t a sponsored post.