After a hard afternoon of slaving over a hot iPad at Starbucks, I called on an old reliable wine to soften the blow. At the Callender’s Grill happy hour, the Celtics and Knicks were going at it on the TV while shop talk and vacation plans were discussed around me. I had my own vacation plans to think of - a trip to Texas to visit my family and the promise of some Texas wine and food with loved ones I had not seen in far too long. I'll let you know about that Texas wine in this space soon.
The
Ravenswood Napa Valley Old Vine Zinfandel 2009 seems to be a blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Carignane sourced from various vineyards in the Napa Valley, with a nice happy hour price of $6.75 by the glass. It’s very dark in the glass and makes its presence known right away. The nose is big and juicy, with blackberry, black cherry, cedar and spice exploding from the glass. I think of the Ravenswood tag line, “No wimpy wines,” and figure this must be what they mean.
The palate is lush with dark fruit, and loaded with spicy cinnamon, vanilla and white pepper. It’s very smooth in the mouth, with firm tannins surfacing on the finish. It certainly washed the happy hour sliders down properly.
While waiting for my wine, I noticed a tap at the bar for
Bass Stout. When did Bass get tired of being the lighter side of a Black and Tan? Fairly recently, apparently. The bartender said it’s a brand new entry in the beer field. It's not quite as thick and full as Guinness and lacks the creaminess of the venerable Irish stout, but it hits pretty darn close. Barkeep told me this Callender's (Wilshire, Miracle Mile, Los Angeles) is one of the first places to carry it.
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