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[stevebody]

Tessa,

Since I'm in Seattle, WOW's suggestions may be more useful to you, as there are a lot of things we get here that you may not - and vice-versa. But I would caution you not to develop a clear impression about what a domestic Zin tastes like based on the Dancing Bull, which is a neat bottle of wine that doesn't really have a lot of Zin character. Rancho Zabaco, just to give you another opinion, has assumed a far higher profile in the past two years than they have ever have, without much of a change of quality in their wines. How? Marketing, mainly. They improved their labels, introduced a couple of new bottlings, spent a S__tload os money on ads, and got aggressive with their in-store placements. Nothing wrong with any of that but their Zins are not really all that great, just a LOT more visible. Got to agree with WOW: spend that couple of extra $$ and get the Sonoma Heritage Vines or go for the Dry Creek version. Both a heck of a lot better than the Bull.

The lowest priced serious Zin I've come across is the Bogle Old Vines. It has the exact flavor profile of a good, solid CA Zin and is widely enough distributed that you can probably find it. If you're inclined to go maybe $15-$18, try the Ballantyne Napa Valley, the Gallo Sonoma Frye Ranch, the Seghesio Sonoma, the Pedroncelli Mother Clone, or the Fife Mendocino Uplands - all really nice Zins for under $20.

Back in Italy, I've found that, after sampling maybe 15 Primitivos, my consistent favorite is the A-Mano, for about $8. It reminds me of the Seghesio Sonoma mentioned above: Italian styled and full, lush fruit. If you can find that, TRY IT. I think you'll love it!