TrinitasJen wrote:Kev and I are still around if you have any questions....

thanks for your responses so far. an open-end type question regarding differentiating your offering with that of a "standard" california zin (understanding that it's difficult to point to one specific standard). are you familar with some of the other woot zin offerings (souverain, chase, pedroncelli, scottharvey, saxon brown, stuart cellars, wellington to name some of the ones i at least purchased)?

as i understand it, kevin was not involved in making these wines. how is his approach going to shift moving forward and what elements will be preserved and what aspects will change?

Long time wooter, first time poster. After all the excellent reviews I bought one. Now we'll see if I like zins.

sam9539 wrote:Long time wooter, first time poster. After all the excellent reviews I bought one. Now we'll see if I like zins.

Welcome! (to posting)

I have been in a wine funk lately. I was hoping that the JanKris might have gotten me out of this but it did not. I guess I had higher expectations. That is OK as this will be used for those late nights after we drink the good stuff. On the other hand I had an excellent 07 Prisoner from Orin Swift and this has renewed my faith. I have decided to go for this trio to work through my funk. Hopefully this one helps!!

Also Ratting the Olympic Granola Bar (Almond and Chocolate) received along with the '05 Mataro.

Had this for breakfast this morning. A very, very good granola bar. Soft granola bar, dense and chewy with (you guessed it) almonds and chocolate along with the standard granola accompaniments of rolled oats, etc. Also had some flaxseed which must have been toasted/roasted 'cause they were easy to chew.

This is definitely a meal, not a snack, at 390 calories. I'm the type of guy who nearly always skips breakfast unless it's something I can eat while I work. These are great for that. I just might pick myself up a pack...

jonstrib wrote:thanks for your responses so far. an open-end type question regarding differentiating your offering with that of a "standard" california zin (understanding that it's difficult to point to one specific standard). are you familar with some of the other woot zin offerings (souverain, chase, pedroncelli, scottharvey, saxon brown, stuart cellars, wellington to name some of the ones i at least purchased)?

as i understand it, kevin was not involved in making these wines. how is his approach going to shift moving forward and what elements will be preserved and what aspects will change?

Hey There! Actually Kevin bottled the 05 Zin and 05 Mataro. In my opinion the wines have become a little bit more contemporary in style. They are much more bright and fruit-forward then the previous vintages. I can't speak for Kevin but I love the style he is contributing to Trinitas and I beleive that will continue....

OK Jen or Kevin:

1) Any other food pairings you recommend with each wine, other than what's on the tasting notes? Personally, I developed my love for Cotes-du-Rhone because it pairs so well with the Prime Rib from Brother Sebastian's Steak House and Winery in Omaha, Nebraska (where my wife and I had our prenuptial dinner). I think the Mataro would be an excellent accompaniment to that meal. Any other personal suggestions?

2) So the Bigalow vineyard has given up the ghost. How much longer for the Mataro?

caufield wrote:OK Jen or Kevin:

1) Any other food pairings you recommend with each wine, other than what's on the tasting notes? Personally, I developed my love for Cotes-du-Rhone because it pairs so well with the Prime Rib from Brother Sebastian's Steak House and Winery in Omaha, Nebraska (where my wife and I had our prenuptial dinner). I think the Mataro would be an excellent accompaniment to that meal. Any other personal suggestions?

I just had duck the other night with this balsamic drizzle .... we drank Mataro with it...it was great. The Mataro paired very well and was a nice compliment to the earthier / game flavors in the duck!!
Mataro also has a Tabbaco Leaf characteristic so I think it is fun to drink it with smoked meats and game. My fiance smoked baby-back ribs on Super Bowl and we drank some Trinitas Zin with it and it was so deadly!!!...


2) So the Bigalow vineyard has given up the ghost. How much longer for the Mataro?

sam9539 wrote:Long time wooter, first time poster. After all the excellent reviews I bought one. Now we'll see if I like zins.

Thank you for purhcasing. I hope you enjoy them.

TrinitasJen wrote:Thank you for purhcasing. I hope you enjoy them.

Jen, which one are you in the Old West Halloween picture?

Me thinks it be clue time!

I would like to thank all you wooters. This was a new and fun experience. I would also like to extend a personnel invitation. If any of you are ever in Napa please give me a call or email. Barrel tastings are the best part of my job and I love to share.

Kevin Mills
Winemaker
Trinitas Cellars
Kevinmills@trinitascellars.com
(707)287-6397

caufield wrote:OK Jen or Kevin:

1) Any other food pairings you recommend with each wine, other than what's on the tasting notes? Personally, I developed my love for Cotes-du-Rhone because it pairs so well with the Prime Rib from Brother Sebastian's Steak House and Winery in Omaha, Nebraska (where my wife and I had our prenuptial dinner). I think the Mataro would be an excellent accompaniment to that meal. Any other personal suggestions?

2) So the Bigalow vineyard has given up the ghost. How much longer for the Mataro?

The 06 Mataro should be released any time

jonstrib wrote:thanks for your responses so far. an open-end type question regarding differentiating your offering with that of a "standard" california zin (understanding that it's difficult to point to one specific standard). are you familar with some of the other woot zin offerings (souverain, chase, pedroncelli, scottharvey, saxon brown, stuart cellars, wellington to name some of the ones i at least purchased)?

as i understand it, kevin was not involved in making these wines. how is his approach going to shift moving forward and what elements will be preserved and what aspects will change?

We want consumer friendly wines meaning more fruit. So I've started fermenting a portion of the Zin in open top fermenters. I like what I'm seeing. Those lots are brighter in red fruit aromatics. The other lots I ferment in traditional closed top tanks are then extended macerated. This gives us that big bodied zin that we all know and love. Third we are using a touch more new oak to lift the sweet vanilla, and cocoa notes in the nose. This also adds weight to the palate and sweetens the core.

jonstrib wrote:nice/helpful lab reports and appreciated the winery participation (totally disagree with a prior point about too much winery participation-that's one of the unique benefits of woot and most people can separate useful/insightful information from pure marketing).
~snipped some content~

I agree with jonstrib, and would like to thank the labrats and the Trinitas winery for a job well done. This looks like a swell deal(again) so I'm counting my disposable funds(again).
~too much winery participation??... not so~

Drinking the last bit of the Bigalow today, I find it improved by the bottle aeration. It's less sour, shows more fruit (especially blackberry) and some oak, and actually feels like a Zin now. I would definitely suggest some degree of aeration.

I've been hooked on zin since being turned on to Ridge by a great wine merchant in 1980. Good rattage puts me in for 2. I usually order 3, but paying off the Xmas credit card bills forces discretion.

fairnymph wrote:Drinking the last bit of the Bigalow today, I find it improved by the bottle aeration. It's less sour, shows more fruit (especially blackberry) and some oak, and actually feels like a Zin now. I would definitely suggest some degree of aeration.

Whoa, I was coming to post the exact same thing about the Old Vine. I would now suggest that if anyone is on the fence, I'd take the leap and buy one (or three, like I did). Use one of WD's decanters and I doubt you'll be disappointed.

I want to thank all of the labrats today! i was on the fence since i've recently discovered the existence of good zins. a lot of zins either taste like a fruit salad or taste watered down (that's the best way i can think to describe it and i have no idea why this is. pH maybe?) i get the impression that some of these wines will taste like the latter and may come close to the former...so i think i'll wait a little longer before i wander further down the zin road.


just had the pedroncelli mother clone zin this week and was very impressed,especially from a QPR standpoint.

i just finished my bottle a few days ago and i'd agree. i was impressed by all of their wines.

burrnini wrote:I want to thank all of the labrats today! i was on the fence since i've recently discovered the existence of good zins. a lot of zins either taste like a fruit salad or taste watered down (that's the best way i can think to describe it and i have no idea why this is. pH maybe?) i get the impression that some of these wines will taste like the latter and may come close to the former...so i think i'll wait a little longer before i wander further down the zin road.


just had the pedroncelli mother clone zin this week and was very impressed,especially from a QPR standpoint.

i just finished my bottle a few days ago and i'd agree. i was impressed by all of their wines.

I don't get the impression from the Old Vine labrat report and certainly not from the Bigalow that either of these Zins would be fruit salad or watered down.

tomaste wrote:I also got my JanKris order and opened the Merlot last night. My wife and I both thought it was horrible, couldn't even finish the glass =( I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to wine, but I would almost bet there was something wrong with it. I hear about some wine being "corked" but I'm not sure what that really is. I just know it was extremely bitter tasting. It sort of tasted like prunes that had gone sour. The bad aftertaste lingered for more than 10 minutes till I had something to eat.

Here's to hoping the next bottle will be better!

I haven't tried the merlot yet, but the Jankris 2003 syrah was nothing to write home about. I've had better wines from Charles Shaw. I can't believe that the new owner of the winery is trying to sell this swill for $18 a bottle on their new web site - In my opinion, they should dump it into a vat and make red wine vinegar with it.

fairnymph wrote:I don't get the impression from the Old Vine labrat report and certainly not from the Bigalow that either of these Zins would be fruit salad or watered down.

i went back and reread the reports and fruit salad was a bit of an exaggeration on my part (i liked the descriptive imagery it conjured up), but the watered down comes from a few phrases that have been used to describe wines that i found "watered down". i use quotes because i don't think anyone is adding water to the glass or bottle i bought, but because it is the best way i can think of to describe a taste profile that i'm not too fond of.

Join us for the Wine.Woot Anniversary Tasting Party!

Date: Friday, February 27th

When: 7:00 pm Central Time

Where: Anniversary Forum (Click on Anniversary Forum to go to thread)

Attire: Informal


Just bring your favorate libation, something to snack on, and of course yourself. and get ready to hang out with some of your closest wine.woot buddies!

caufield wrote:Also Ratting the Olympic Granola Bar (Almond and Chocolate) received along with the '05 Mataro.

Had this for breakfast this morning. A very, very good granola bar. Soft granola bar, dense and chewy with (you guessed it) almonds and chocolate along with the standard granola accompaniments of rolled oats, etc. Also had some flaxseed which must have been toasted/roasted 'cause they were easy to chew.

This is definitely a meal, not a snack, at 390 calories. I'm the type of guy who nearly always skips breakfast unless it's something I can eat while I work. These are great for that. I just might pick myself up a pack...

The next offer? Health food for all of us winos?? Argh.

ltraffis wrote:The next offer? Health food for all of us winos?? Argh.

It's the current side deal. Look over there ---> And up. I think this is the first instance of side deal rattage.

Cloooo?

joshaw wrote:Whoa, I was coming to post the exact same thing about the Old Vine. I would now suggest that if anyone is on the fence, I'd take the leap and buy one (or three, like I did). Use one of WD's decanters and I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Well, i must agree...

clue? a reasonably priced sun.

WD

Great feedback from the winery and friends!
I am in for one...
tp

Trinitas Trio
Current numbers (updated each minute)
First sucker: bkarney
Speed to first woot: 0m 6.063s
Last wooter to woot: tpftw

winefarm wrote:Well, i must agree...

clue? a reasonably priced sun.

WD

Helios, of Corison fame?

gcdyersb wrote:Helios, of Corison fame?

I would call that a very good guess. Not that I know anything. But if I DID, I'd say the lovely Helios Cab Franc would be greatly appreciated and enjoyed...

Ok... in for a set.
~broke before payday~

I'd guess Helios as well, although from what I was told it won't be the Cab Franc. I think it will be the merlot + Cab.

Then again I was also told it might not be coming up for another month or so

mgdsh wrote:I'd guess Helios as well, although from what I was told it won't be the Cab Franc. I think it will be the merlot + Cab.

Then again I was also told it might not be coming up for another month or so

Doood WD's gonna put you on double secret probation!

What happens at the winery, STAYS at the winery!

I had the Mataro last night. Man I love this wine. It has the best finish of any wine I've had in recent memory - long, smooth and a little "Willy Wonka", changing from citrusy Sweet-tart like tastes, to pomegranate to hints of tobacco. This is definitely a dry wine - but strikes that perfect balance of being dry but never crosses into harsh, even on the finish. I don't know if wine pros would call it "Great", but I do. 92 points from Gene M.

I was really enjoying the 04 Zin until I read the back label. I prefer my wines without religion metastasizing them.

Opened the '05 Old Vine Zin a bit ago. Enjoyed the first few swallows enough to give it a "Yum" on the Y/Y scale. Let it sit for about an hour and it's now droolworthy. I can't taste all the flavors the experts find in a wine, but I know what I like, and I LOVE this. It now rates a "YUM!!!" If I had to pick one word to describe it after aerating for an hour, it would be "juicy." Don't know why, but--yeah. And there's a nice long finish so you can keep enjoying it without keeping your mouth full of wine.

Even followed it up with a bite of Hershey's milk (don't hurt me; I'm saving the Amano and wanted to see how this did with SOMETHING else) and it was really, really good.

Off to order a pizza. I'm working on a project, so that's as fancy as it's going to get tonight.

This would definitely go on my "buy again" list.

TrinitasJen wrote:Thank you for purhcasing. I hope you enjoy them.

I'm enjoying the '05 tonight. So far - it is fantastic. We'll see how it goes in an hour.

- even better - Excellent - I like it better than the '04 I think. Other thoughts?

Day 2:
After being corked on the counter...

Alright - not as good at day one.

bardolator wrote:Opened the '05 Old Vine Zin a bit ago. Enjoyed the first few swallows enough to give it a "Yum" on the Y/Y scale. Let it sit for about an hour and it's now droolworthy. I can't taste all the flavors the experts find in a wine, but I know what I like, and I LOVE this. It now rates a "YUM!!!" If I had to pick one word to describe it after aerating for an hour, it would be "juicy." Don't know why, but--yeah. And there's a nice long finish so you can keep enjoying it without keeping your mouth full of wine.

Even followed it up with a bite of Hershey's milk (don't hurt me; I'm saving the Amano and wanted to see how this did with SOMETHING else) and it was really, really good.

Off to order a pizza. I'm working on a project, so that's as fancy as it's going to get tonight.

This would definitely go on my "buy again" list.