Turkey day again

Last year I covered Zinfandel and Thanksgiving dinner so I won't go into it again here, but I wanted to give a quick update.

One of the things I love most about Zinfandel is the predominance of old vines yielding exquisite fruit. Alas, the writing is on the wall, and those old vines are getting, well... old.

Enjoy them while you can, but eventually there will be a whole lot fewer old vine Zins. Why? Time marching on.

That whole pesky Prohibition thing didn't do much for the wine industry, and even less for the vineyards. The old Zin vines are primarily pre-prohibition, and there wasn't a lot of Zin planted again until the later half of the 20th century.

So, if you haven't gotten out yet to enjoy a fine Zinfandel, this turkey day may be your big chance. My recent tasting has shown an overall decline in the average quality of Zinfandel, even from some trusted producers, and this trend is likely to continue.

Fortunately, Pinot Noir and Riesling are on the rise, have I mentioned that yet?

Have a great Thanksgiving!