Changes Afoot @ ZAP

Got an e-mail today from ZAP about their late Jan tasting/event:
NewZAP Event

As best I can tell, they've bailed out of the big FtMason tasting event and gone upscale at ThePresidio & The FourSeasons hotel. I can understand why they wanted to rein in the big ZAP tasting as I heard it'd really become a zoo. But it sure seems like they're trying to go the HdR route and make it a more chi-chi event. Got news for them....chi-chi folks don't drink Zinfandel...it's us common folks who do.
I have, of course, followed ZAP from the very start and was one of the very early-on members. Went to about the first 8-10 ZAP tastings where I made some very life-long friends. The Zinfandel & GoodEats event, hosted by KentRosenblum, was always such a special treat.
At the early ZAP tastings, they always had a table for home winemakers. They were often...uhhhhh....not very good. But one year, there was this young-sprout winemaker, kinda on the shy/embarrassed side, there pouring his Ho-Made Zin. I immediately recognized it as something really special...big/extracted/very spicy/huge fruit...but still w/ balance. I told him that his Zin was better than 90% of the Zins being poured out there on the floor. He gave me this "awww shucks" thank-you and seemed genuinely complimented. I recall his name being something like Mike Officer or some such. Not sure whatever happened to the guy, though. Seemed to have a bit of winemaking talent, though.
Tom

nice timing, albeit a bit tongue in cheek, Tom..My latest Carlisle offering arrived today

The Zinfandel & GoodEats event, hosted by KentRosenblum, was always such a special treat.

Yeah, Tom, Zinfandel advocacy isn't quite as needed today as it was back then, eh? The Zin & Eats event was always our favorite, too, back in the days when we were local to the event: not as crazy as the big event, more low-key and with some good food to accompany the wines. That was also back when we were discovering new producers, but these days we usually just buy from those 4-5 that appeal to our changing tastes.

Mark Lipton

[Jenise]

Only went to Zap once, but loved it. And yeah it was a zoo, but the zoo and Ft. Mason was a big part of the ambience and very well suited to the whole zinfandel mythology. Going to the Four Seasons is going to take all the fun out of it.

Btw, Zin's gaining in popularity in my neighborhood! My monthly tastings attract 35-50 people, but this weekend's zinfandel tasting? Got 70+ signed up.