Last week when I grilled with Zinfandel I went the most classic of routes; a burger. Zin and grilled burgers are about as American a meal as there is. One of the many beauties of Zinfandel however is it’s versatility with most any kind of cuisine. More specifically though, great Zinfandel will pair well with nearly anything that comes off of your grill. So when I started planning a meal to pair with the Zinfandels below I wanted to incorporate flavors further away from home than a burger.
Inspired by myriad meals over the years at Turkish, Greek and Georgian Restaurants, to name a few, I came up with a wet rub (recipe below) for meat, though it would work with veggies too, that incorporated many of the flavors I associate with those cuisines. I rubbed it on Skirt Steak and let it do it’s thing in the Fridge for 24 hours. On the side I made Baba Ganoush using my favorite recipe, found over at Cookie + Kate. I made a couple tweaks to it, adding in 2 teaspoons if Merquen (a Chilean Spice Blend) and grilling the Eggplant instead of cooking it in the oven. I also served Grilled Sourdough Bread and a Dip of Dukkah and Extra Virgin Olive Oil. There’s a broad range of flavors in this meal, many of them bold, which have plenty of connective tissue between them and paired impeccably well with this quartet of Zinfandels from Legendary Vineyards. Those vineyards represent four distinct growing regions.
Robert Biale Vineyards 2018 R.W. Moore Vineyard Zinfandel ($62)
This vineyard, planted in 1905, represents the only Zinfandel in all of Coombsville. This Zinfandel is a study in sweet, dark fruit such as plum, blackberry and cherry. Hints of gingersnaps as well. Breyer's Black Cherry Ice Cream on the finish. 888 cases were produced. Not a surprise that this is another distinct, vineyard specific wine from the folks at Biale. It paired particularly well with the Baba Ganoush.
Peachy Canyon Winery 2017 D Block Zinfandel, Mustang Springs Ranch ($85)
A mere 68 cases of this Paso Robles, block specific Zinfandel were produced. D Block is a red fruit lovers paradise. Raspberry, cherry, plum and currant are all accounted for alongside spice, sweet dark chocolate, and wisps of tangerine. The heat in my wet spice rub really complemented the bright red fruit in this Zin perfectly. It turned out to be a next level pairing.
Mount Peak 2017 Rattlesnake Zinfandel, Monte Rosso Vineyard ($40)
Small amounts of Syrah and Petite Sirah are also blended into this wine. 525 cases were produced.Monte Rosso is among the most famous vineyards in Sonoma County. The highest point of the vineyard is called Rattlesnake Hill and this wine is named in tribute to that area. Rattlesnake Zinfandel is layered with red and black jam fruit, Bosco Sauce, and oodles of plum pudding spices. This Zinfandel is decadent and delicious. It paired delightfully with my meal, but was perhaps the most keenly attuned of the quartet to drinking on it’s own.
Rombauer 2017 El Dorado Zinfandel, Twin Rivers Vineyard ($42)
In addition to Zinfandel this wine has 15% Petite Sirah Blended in. Twin Rivers Vineyard Zinfandel has the big, nearly explosive dark fruit you should expect from an El Dorado Vineyard. It also has a prodigiously long, spice laden finish and enough acid to keep everything honest. It’s dark, delicious and goes well with bold flavors so my meal paired fabulously with it. This vineyard in El Dorado County is featured in my recent story, “Excellent Zinfandel Begins with Legendary Vineyards.” I encourage you to check it out if you’d like a deeper dive into the relationship between Legendary Vineyards and Great Zinfandel.
I know that Zinfandel pairs with lots of different flavors, especially bold ones. So in planning my meal, I not only wanted to grill as much of it as possible, I wanted to push the flavor boundaries and make sure I was going outside the typical pairing. Not only did it worked, it was absolutely phenomenal. Even something as simple as grilling a few slices of Sourdough bread elevated it and helped it complement the wines so well. So yes, whatever you enjoy cooking on your grill, Zinfandel is the correct wine choice.