Categories: Wine, Australia, Zinfandel, Shultz, 2001(Barossa Valley) Johann Zinfandel, wine review

Last night, my thirst for an audacious Zinfandel was appeased. Since there's nothing like a heavy red wine to balance and face-off brisket, I experimented with a foreign Zin.

Impartial to Zinfandels harvested in Sonoma and Napa Valley regions (2004 Bridgehead Zinfandel or a Ridge 2004 Geyserville) I was astounded by the almost velvety texture of vanilla, cherries and pepper. Presumably, a diminutive, mature but mighty vineyard, the Shultz family produced a Zinfandel that was not only named after one of Barossa Valley's pioneers but the vineyard's founding father.

With so much depth, it's apparent that wine making has been a family tradition for many years. Since, I never bought the idea that complex wines were cultivated in Australia, let alone a Zin without a cork but a screw cap, Shultz, 2001(Barossa Valley) Johann Zinfandel was a double surprise.

However, this morning when trying to remember the name of the wine, the brain drew a blank. My photographic memory even failed because I was unable to conjure just one aspect of the label. It dawned on me that the inability to remember a wine is tantamount to forgetting the name of a prospective employer, client or an aesthetically appealing piece of artwork.

So here's how to always remember a fine bottle of wine:

Gaze deeply into its label. Study the colors, font and overall design of the label.
Log it. Wine diaries are not for oenophiles - only. When enjoying a noteworthy wine, jot down the name of vineyard or producer's name, the vintage and cru. Do not forget to document the details of the taste and tinge of the wine. People who own PDAs can make a note of it. For individuals with neither a wine journal or a PDA, just type the name of the wine into your cell phone.

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Save the cork. Various wine makers print the name of the wine on the cork. However, as more wines enter the market with rubber wine corks and screw caps, use other hints to remember a good bottle of wine.

Shoot it. When all else fails, keep your digital camera handy, snap a shot of the wine label.

In extenuating circumstances, where a PDA, cell phone, wine diary or even a pen is unavailable, do your best create a name association, story or rhyme. For example to remember the bottle of Zinfandel that consumed I last night, I would recite the following, "As one of the first pioneers of Barossa Valley, "Johanne Schultz" is a legendary winemaker of sorts, who passed on the family tradition of delectable wines, -- so much so that a wine was inspired in his honor, a Zinfandel circa 2001."

Wine resource sites:
• To learn more about the wine, visit www.torbreck.com
• My Wines Direct • www.winesearcher.com
• www.winezap.com
• www.wines.com
• Windsor Vineyards
• Morrellwine.com - America's Premier Wine Merchant

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By Holly Bentz (c) 2006 fruitionMedia.net

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