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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.99
The wine has a deep, rich purple color. Intense red fruits are on the nose, with black pepper spice and a touch of...
Rapid Ship
Spirits
375ml
Bottle: $44.40
Floral nose. Waxy (candlewax, crayons), then spicy, fruity notes emerge, in particular raisin and plum, becomes more...
12 FREE
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $52.94
12 bottles: $51.88
Tightly focused and refined for a Zinfandel, this version packs in deep flavors of black cherry, licorice and roasted...
12 FREE
WS
94
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $21.87
12 bottles: $21.43
Dynamic and generous, this Zin combines old-school briar with sleek suppleness, serving up stylish flavors of...
WS
93
VM
90
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $33.60 $38.40
Eye: Garnet core, pink rose rim. Nose: Kumquat, exotic spice, wild strawberries, raspberries, Rainier cherry. Time...
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $26.93 $28.80
"Bambino" comes from a ten-acre block planted on Old Hill in 1998. This young-vine field blend is patterned after the...
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $15.94
Certified HVE3*. Sourced from 40-year-old Muscadet vines planted in shallow soils of disintegrated mica/schist....
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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $24.54 $26.39
A briar patch in a bottle, this hearty red abounds with bold raspberry, roasted anise and smoky black pepper flavors...
WS
91
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.99
Brambly, ripe Zinfandel fruit and spice in a fresh package. The use of stainless on the Foxglove Zin keeps the ripe...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $8.99
Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel is made using grapes sourced from gnarled 35-80 year old head trained vines. As some...
Rapid Ship
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $42.70
The intriguing bouquet offers aromas that include leather, candle wax, flax and earthy scents of moss, grass, stone...
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WE
98
Rapid Ship
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $34.40
Smells of ripe grapes, grape must and lead pencil in the initial whiffs; air contact stimulates baking spices, black...
12 FREE
WE
98
UBC
95
Rapid Ship
Spirits
700ml
Bottle: $60.80
Powerful and proud like a lion. Grappa Riserva, aged through Solera method, flowing-steam distilled. Its aroma...
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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.25
12 bottles: $15.44
The NV Old Vine Red Lot 74 is primarily Zinfandel, with some Syrah, Petite Sirah, Carignan, Grenache and Barbera....
WA
93
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $36.93 $39.20
Grapes for the 2021 Angeli Zinfandel are picked in three passes. Proprietor Scot Bilbro notes that Zinfandel's...
WA
96
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $69.94
The 2021 Zinfandel Giuseppe & Luisa is expressive, perfumed and a pleasure to drinkā€”it offers restraint over power,...
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WA
97
JD
93
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $27.82
12 bottles: $27.26
Vigneto Di Evo Zinfandel is a barrel-blend from select Martinelli single vineyard zinfandel sites: Jackass,...
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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $27.53 $29.60
A broad-shouldered red, with a potent structure but expressive blackberry, savory dill and white pepper flavors that...
WS
92
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $42.94
The 2021 Zinfandel Pagani Ranch is a wine of tremendous stature. Vertical and composed in bearing, the 2021 has a ton...
12 FREE
VM
95
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $31.94
12 bottles: $31.30
Rombauer's 2020 Zinfandel is 87% Sierra Foothills, with the remainder of the fruit coming from Napa and Lake...
WA
91

Grappa Melon de Bourgogne Zinfandel Rapid Ship

Like so many of the great spirits of Europe, Grappa was born from a need to make resources go that little bit further, to eke out the last drop of flavor and potential from the crops of winemakers. Indeed, Italian vintners invented Grappa as a way to make use of the pomace - leftover grape skins, stems, pulp and seeds - which remained after the juice was extracted from the fruit needed to make wine. Over the centuries, the process was refined, and the distillation of Grappa became an art in itself. Today, top Grappa producers use a range of state of the art equipment, from continuous stills to pot stills, to manufacture a wide variety of Grappas, each with their own distinct characteristics.


Most of us know Grappa from our local Italian restaurants, where it is commonly served as a digestif. However, in the twenty first century, there is a high interest in unique, boutique Grappas, which showcase the talent of the distillers through a range of interesting qualities. Grappa can be aged in oak, in which case it takes on a beautiful golden color, quite different from the clear Grappas we are most familiar with. The high end Grappas are a world away from the harsh spirit many of us have encountered, and have a smooth, gentle quality which can be nothing short of a revelation.

One of the more unusual French grape varietals, Melon de Bourgogne has been grown in and around the Loire Valley for several hundred years. In fact, this grape was first planted in the Loire region of Pays Nantais back in the mid 17th century, after a devastating frost decimated most of the red grapes which were typical in the area. The winemakers of Pays Nantais were keen to cultivate vines which were hardy, high yielding, and capable of surviving another such frost, and so turned their attention to Melon de Bourgogne for this very reason. The native home of the varietal is actually in Burgundy, where it is still grown to a lesser extent.


Because Melon de Bourgogne produces naturally heavy yields, the vintners of Pays Nantais go to great lengths to reduce the amount of fruit the vines bear. This allows the finest characteristics of the grape to come forward, and also opens up the opportunity for it to express the wonderful granite and schist soils in which the vines are grown. Melon de Bourgogne is a minerally white wine grape varietal, with a very subtle set of fruit flavors. It is prized for its freshness and brightness, and is seeing a revival in the twenty first century as an excellent wine for pairing with a wide range of foods.

The precise origins of what became known as the Zinfandel grape variety are uncertain, although it has clear genetic equivalents in both Puglia and Croatia. However, when it was brought to the New World in the mid 19th century, it became known as the Zinfandel, and has been consistently popular and widely grown ever since. These very dark and very round grapes have a remarkably high sugar content, resulting in relatively high levels of alcohol in the wines they are made into, with bottles often displaying as much as fifteen percent. What makes the Zinfandel such an interesting grape, though, is the fact that the flavors produced by this varietal vary considerably depending on the climate they are grown in. In cooler valley regions, the Zinfandel grapes result in wines which hold strong flavors of tart and sweet fruits; raspberry, redcurrant and sweet cherry, held in a very smooth and silky liquid. Conversely, warmer regions result in more complex and spicy notes, including anise, pepper and hedgerow berries.