Old vine California red zinfandels that get better with age

Lenker

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And don’t forget that although there are plenty of craft beer bars in Ireland now, the Irish drinking stereotype has been around forever, and most Irish people sitting around for long periods in a pub over the years were drinking Guinness. Guinness is only 4.2% alcohol by volume. So you can sit and drink a lot more of them than you can, say, a 7.5% IPA here, without getting inebriated.

And finally, moving onto the other traditionally famous Irish drink, Jameson whiskey, I’d like to point out to my readers something I’ve pointed out to plenty of people in pubs over the years here in America: I’ve never seen anyone order a pickleback in Ireland. Indeed, when I asked my friend Joe about it one day in a Dublin pub, he laughed and basically told me that you might get run out of the place if you tried ordering one. He had never heard of the concept and that was just two years ago.

For those who don’t know what a pickleback is (and in my view, it’s a whiskey drink for people who don’t like whiskey): Basically you order a shot of Jameson and a shot of pickle juice next to it. You bang back the Jameson and then immediately drink the pickle juice shot — which negates the taste of the Jameson. No thanks. I’ll take my Jamo neat. Sláinte.

SOME THINGS TRULY get better with age. Antique furniture and first-edition books.

Oak trees and aged prosciutto.

And that old adage is especially true when it comes to many wines and whiskies. But let’s just stick with wine, even though I could on about the beauty of aged whisky.

Many of us know that certain wines — especially red wines — often get better with age.

But what about wines made with grapes from old vines? The old, gnarled vines often definitely look different than younger ones. But do the wines taste any different?

You bet they do! That’s probably why many wineries make a point of publicizing the fact that their wines are made with old vine grapes.

But why do old vine wines taste different or better? What’s the difference? And why does it matter?

This week, you can learn all about the science of old vines, along with tasting notes for four California red zinfandels made with old vine grapes. Let me add that two of the wines cost less than $10 a bottle and can be easily found in many local wine stores.

Hope you enjoy.

What are old vines?

There’s no official definition for what’s considered an old vine. Any winemaker can claim to make wine using old vines and there’s nothing stopping them from doing so. But in general, some winemakers agree that vines must be at least 50 years old to be considered “old vines.” At least, that’s the number that the Historic Vineyard Society in California agreed on when it comes to calling certain vines old vines. And in the case of the four California zinfandels featured this week, they all meet that 50 year threshold.

SEE WINE, PAGE E23

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