This has been a busy time for us with two days at ZAP events and a visit to the beautiful winery, The Terraces at Quarry Vineyards in Napa Valley.

We are members of ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers). On Thursday night, January 26, we did our volunteer stint at the ZAP’s Good Eats & Zinfandel Pairing event. We had a chance to roam around on our dinner break and taste Zinfandels from several wineries paired with gourmet appetizers from local restaurants.

The following Saturday we attended the Zinfandel Festival, a tasting of Zinfandels from over 200 wineries. The morning session is open to the trade and ZAP volunteers. The afternoon session is open to the public and is massively attended. The afternoon session is so crowded that is difficult to maneuver and the popular wineries have long lines of Zin lovers waiting to taste. An estimated 10,000 people showed up for this event.

It was at the Good Eats & Zinfandel Pairing event that we discovered The Terraces at Quarry Vineyards. Their 2003 Zinfandel was paired with “Pomegranate Petaluma Duck” prepared by San Francisco restaurant FAZ. This wine is luscious and soft with a great finish. We also learned that The Terraces gives a vineyard tour for $10 a person. On the Monday following ZAP, we called and scheduled a tour for the next day.

The Terraces is located in the Napa Valley on the Silverado Trail in Rutherford. Timm Crull, owner and winemaker, was there to greet us.  We jumped into Timm’s open mini four-wheel-drive vehicle and spent the next hour driving throughout the vineyards. The first stop was the Old Stone Winery for a bit of history on the Terraces winery. The Old Stone Winery was completed in 1885. Today the open stone building serves as an area for winery celebrations and events. There are 30 acres of vineyards planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel. The vineyards are on small plots of neatly terraced hillsides.

Much of the fruit is sold, but Tim Crull and his wife Sharon keep seven acres of Zinfandel and Cabernet to produce their excellent wines. Only 1000 cases of wine are produced, one-third Cab, and two-thirds Zinfandel.

Back at the winery, we tasted both the 2003 Zinfandel ($25) and the 2002 Cabernet ($48). These are both beautifully finished wines. The Cab has lots of complex structure and soft tannins and is very drinkable now. We think it is well worth the price of $48 per bottle for those interested in high-end Cabernets. The Zinfandel, as we found at ZAP, is luscious but not overbearing. It’s a great food wine.  We also get a bonus, a barrel tasting of some Petit Syrah that Timm will bottle in very small amounts later this year. It will definitely be a very fine Petit Syrah. We can’t wait to try the finished product.