Ok, I'll admit it -- I'm not only a zinaholic, I'm a Swanaholic.
And I particularly like the Estate PN.
It was hot today, over 90.
I took a bottle over to K&N Bistro in Sebastopol because I wanted a wine I'd like and I wasn't sure what they'd have on the menu. I had suspected there might be salmon, but no.
So I had a salad of wax beans and green beans and freshly grilled calamari to start, and sea bass (Patagonian toothfish) with a white corn thingamabobby around it.
The wine was fine. It took half an hour in the glass to open. Dusty and maybe a bit acidic till it opened up. Then the dark cherry and something like not-quite-ripe blackberry fruit showed up. By time for dessert, the wine tasted the same from sip to swallow, and there wasn't a thing to worry about.
Oh yeah, dessert! it was "Summer Berry Pudding." And no creamy stuff at all! I had to ask Karen (she's the K). She used some leftover hamburger buns, cut the crusts off, and made a compote with strawberries, raspberries and blueberries and some red wine. Soaked the bread crumbs in the juice, mixed it up, put it in a bowl and chilled it. (I'm sure there's a bunch of stuff she didn't say!)
Calif., Russian River Valley, Joseph Swan Trenton Estate Vineyard, Estate Bottled Pinot Noir 2005. Bought at the winery for $46.80 in 3/08. 14.3% alcohol
John