Winery info

[Randy Caparoso]

Hey, Nancy -- want a few extra choices to consider? Re:

The original winemaker for Quivira was Doug Nalle, who's gone on to do his own Zins under the Nalle label. While Grady, the current Quivira dude (I believe), has carried on the tradition, I have to confess that I like the Nalle label Zins better. I believe Doug has a special touch with Dry Creek Valley fruit; and producing Zin that is as lush and buoyantly fresh, yet elegantly, finely textured, is a feat difficult to duplicate (it's almost an intuitive matter of knowing how to tend them, and the exact moment when old Dry Creek vines need to be picked). So if you see a Nalle Zin, try it and you'll discover what the original Quivira style was like.

Other vintners who have that rare ability to make a more elegant style of Zin (in other words, who seem to resist the compulsion to make them into huge, thick monsters) in the tradition of people like Nalle and Louis Martini: Lolonis, the Francis Coppola Family's Edizione Pennino label, Makor (done in Santa Barbara's Au Bon Climat compound), and Robert Sinskey (his low priced "Adventures of Zinskey" is a wonderfully smooth, yet zesty fruit bomb).

Moving on -- if you like white varietal bottlings with fragrant touches of Viognier, I advise you to look into the Kunde Sauvignon Blanc (very fresh and fragrant), Iron Horse Fume Blanc (bigger, more perfumey nose), Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc (creamy, silky smooth and lush), the Francis Coppola Family Chardonnay (quite big, with just light vanillin oak shadings), and the Beringer Alluvium Blanc (an exotic, smooth, medium-full blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Chard, and of course, Viognier). There are more, but I like these best.

Finally, re NZ SBs: To me, the "cat pee" and cut green bellpepper aromatics tend to get out of hand in this country's style. Only so much anyone can take. However, they are almost always laudable in, say, fresh oytser/cracked crab contexts. Wonderful, zesty, crisp acid qualities without being overly sharp and green. In my experience, both Nautilus and Morton makes a richer, creamier, more voluminous style of NZ SB; sort of like the Cloudy Bay, but much more reasonably priced. At the opposite end of the scale, the Giesen SB from Marlborough is more minerally, lemony, just light-medium weight on the palate, and subtly grassy; not to mention very reasonably priced ($11-$13). The most recent hit in the U.S., however, has to be the Villa Maria "Private Reserve," which is creamy smooth, also very subtle in grassy/weedy/peppery qualities, fresh, and finely balanced on the palate. Almost irresistable. If you find the Villa Maria, trust me -- you can't go wrong.

Good luck on your shopping for your oak-intolerant husband and yourself!