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Red
750ml
Bottle: $41.82
12 bottles: $40.98
Floral aromatics of violets and red flowers, with a bright palate of fresh yet salty berry and dense but ripe,...
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $54.55
12 bottles: $53.46
• 100% Zinfandel. • Sourced from estate vineyard in St. Helena. • All native fermentation. • Aged for 11...
12 FREE
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $17.37
OVERALL IMPRESSION: Dark colour and a nose with notes of spices and pepper, as well as ripe and jammy red berries....
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.94
12 bottles: $18.56
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $38.94 $40.00
12 bottles: $38.16
A real briar patch of a Zin, with appealingly rustic wild cherry, spiced cinnamon and bay leaf accents that take on...
12 FREE
WS
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $33.88
12 bottles: $33.20
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $34.94
6 bottles: $34.24
This full-bodied wine is strongly shaped by firm tannins and a spicy, new-oak quality that fills the aroma with...
12 FREE
WE
91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $56.74
Black Sears Zinfandel shows Howell Mountain's exotic, ground white pepper and spicebox in the nose, and even more so...
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $40.08
6 bottles: $32.00
This is a very good, richly flavored wine, quite full bodied and generously spiced, with vanilla and brown sugar notes.
WE
89
WS
89
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $58.05
The 2018 Geyserville is a blend of 68% Zinfandel, 20% Carignane, 10% Petite Sirah and 2% Alicante Bouschet. It's...
WA
96
JD
95

American Whiskey Mencia Zinfandel 2018

The United States of America is a country of great cultural diversity, influenced by migrating nations from across the world. As such, its whiskey industry is a fascinating and complex one, which represents the range of regional differences found there.

The Irish were the original pioneers of American whiskey, and when they emigrated in their thousands from the old country, they brought their skills, knowledge and distillation techniques with them, to give them something to remind each other of home in the New World. This is why American whiskey goes by the Irish spelling, with the additional ‘e’, and why many traditional American whiskies closely resemble the original Irish style.

Today, there are several different types of American whiskey, and the styles and production techniques are now set out in US federal law, cementing a set of characteristics and production methods to preserve and protect the industry.

Corn whiskey, which is made from a minimum 80% corn in the mash and aged for a short period, is probably the most historic of the American whiskey styles, but others like rye whiskey, which is made from a minimum of 51% rye and aged in charred barrels, are growing in popularity among a new generation of drinkers looking for something unique, interesting and independently produced. Alongside these styles, we find Tennessee whiskey, which uses maple charcoal for sweeter notes, the softer wheat whiskies, the world-dominating Bourbon whiskies, and others which are peculiar to specific states and regions.

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.