It's ZAP time again and, as usual, there are a number of enticing events for you to enjoy. Here's the low-down on what events are scheduled, what to expect at them and my advice on what to focus on while you're there.

Good Eats & Zinfandel Pairing

Thursday, January 28, 2010 from 6 pm to 9 pm

This promises to be a very good event, it certainly was last year. What makes it good?

A large number of Zinfandel wines are poured, certainly more than you can taste in an evening. However, it’s a smaller event than the Grand Tasting so it has a calmer feel and it’s easy to focus on the wine and talk to winery representatives.

Each wine is paired with tasty food from one of the Bay Area’s many excellent restaurants. Zinfandel can be a great food wine. It’s got plenty of fruit and the strength to hold up to smokey grilled food or spice. There are enough tannins to work with red meat, but not so much as to overwhelm more delicate food. Not all Zinfandels are built equally though. This event gives you the chance to evaluate a wide variety of Zinfandels: different regions, varying degrees of oak and alcohol, Zinfandel only vs. blends, single-vineyard wines, etc. This will help you figure out which bottles of Zinfandel you want to serve with various meals later this year. And you get to vote on your favorite pairing! My favorite last year was a delicately savory and complexly flavored steak tartare from Lark Creek Steak that was served with a Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs Zinfandel.

This event is also a good way to discover restaurants that you may not have tried. Last year, I was pleased to learn about Radio Africa & Kitchen and enjoyed their food very much.

Get your tickets now!

Flights

Friday, January 29, 2010 from 10 am to 1 pm

If you want to learn more about Zinfandel than you can by simply drinking it, this is your event. There will be plenty of wine to taste, including special offerings that you won’t have access to at any of the other ZAP events. (Last year, Ravenswood brought some tasty aged Zinfandel from their library and other wineries offered unique single-vineyard and limited-production wines.)

This isn’t just a walk-about tasting event though. It also includes sit-down tasting sessions led by the winemakers. They’ll give you details about the vineyards, the winemaking process and blends, and more. You not only learn the differences in flavors between Paso Robles, Lodi, Napa Valley, Dry Creek and Alexander Valley Zinfandels but why those differences exist. It’s a guided tour of Zinfandel!

No tickets are sold at the door for this event, so sign up now!

Evening with the Winemakers

Friday, January 29, 2010 from 5 pm to 10 pm

Everybody knows that Zinfandel goes well with barbecue. But did you know that Zinfandel can be a nice pairing for elegant evening wear? One of San Francisco’s most elegant venues, the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel, will be hosting this year’s swankiest Zinfandel event. You’ll enjoy tasty hors d’oeuvres (and wine, of course) while you mingle with winemakers and look over the exclusive items to be auctioned off during the evening. Dinner will be a special Hawaii-inspired meal prepared by Chef Beverly Gannon.

I’m particularly intrigued by the pairing of Hawaiian food with Zinfandel. Despite our relative proximity to Hawaii, we don’t have many Hawaiian restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the pit-roasted pork, earthy seafood dishes, exotic tropical fruits and soy-based sauces bringing the umami, Zinfandel and island food should be a very nice combination. I don’t know exactly what Chef Gannon has planned, but I’m betting it will be really good.

Click here for tickets.

ZAP's 19th Annual Zinfandel Festival - Grand Zinfandel Tasting

Saturday, January 30, 2010 from 1 pm to 5 pm

There are four ways to approach a tasting like this. You could do it the way I do: notebook in one hand, pen in the other, and wine glass in the... well, it takes some coordination. But, with intense discipline, fast tastebuds and absolute dedication to the art of  dumping and spitting, you can get through, oh..., 10 - 20% of the wines on offer and have legible notes about your favorites.

The second approach is to don a festive shirt, grab a group of friends and treat the event like an afternoon in wine country but without all the driving. Divide and conquer, then check in with your pals periodically so that they can say, “You’ve really got to try the...!” This is a great way to find the best of the best in a Grand Tasting without hurting yourself.

The third style is for those folks with the kind of discipline it takes to limit their intake of red meat to one meal a week. Enter the tasting and sift through the program to find a very limited number of wines or wineries that you want to sample. Try the wines. Then, leave the building feeling like a million bucks and completely ready for your Sunday morning triathlon.

The final way to do a Grand Tasting involves waterproof clothing, a foolhardy disregard for public safety and, occasionally, EMTs wielding a defibrillator. As attractive as this may sound, I don’t recommend it.

Whichever method you prefer, I know that you’ll find at least a few Zinfandel’s to fall in love with. Enjoy. Be moderate. Get home safely.

Click here for tickets.

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