Zin-Fully Delicious!

I do love my Zinfandel wines, so please join me at Nice Matin for a night of these big fruit driven wines. Personally, I think they go great with Nice Matin's Cheeseburgers! This will be an 8-person dinner featuring 4 different Zinfandel wines, plus the obligatory white wine starter..

Here is a link to their menu:
Nice Matin Dinner Menu

Nice Matin is located at 201 W. 79th Street, the corner of Amsterdam Ave.

** The cost of this event is $42 and is for the cost of the wines.

NOTE: Meetup has started charging a "Partner Fee" that is above and in addition to the listed price of the event. It is annoying and confusing, but there is nothing I can do about it. It comes to approximately $4 more for each RSVP. You will see this charge when you complete your rsvp and pay for the event. MEETUP+ members are exempt from this charge.

Just a reminder of our usual rules:

You will also have to pay the cost of your food (plus 33% for tax and tip). You will be expected to order at least 2 dishes (an appetizer and a main, or main and dessert) to help support the restaurant.

Please read and understand the group's cancellation policy. If you take spot, then cancel, and no one else takes the spot, you will not receive a refund or credit. No refunds or credits will be given for no-shows or late cancellations (unless someone else takes your spot). All cancellations are subject to a $6 service fee.

The Wines (notes will be distributed at the dinner):

2023 Weingut Günther Steinmetz Kestener Paulinshofberg Riesling ($23) - Stuart Piggott 94 points, ""Rich and citrusy (think lemon curd and grapefruit peel) with plenty of flinty energy, this is as strong a dry Mosel wine as it is a refreshing one. The stony and salty power builds as it flows over the palate. Firm, very long, and bone-dry finish."

2020 Basina Tribidrag ($25) - A Croation Zin! Tribidrag, the ancestral Croatian variety that has proven, through DNA testing, to be identical to Zinfandel. The name Tribidrag apparently comes from the Greek word for “early ripening,” and Primitivo—also a genetic match for Zinfandel—comes from the Latin word for the same).

This Zin comes from Croatia’s Peljesac peninsula, to the northwest of Dubrovnik on steep slopes high above the Adriatic Sea. It sees six months in neutral French oak barrique before bottling, then another year in bottle before release. A fruit core of fresh raspberry and dried black cherry is complicated by savory notes of tomato paste and roasted rosemary. The palate features sapid, delicious fruit (13.5% listed alc) paired to continuing savory notes and appealing minerality.

2002 Turley Zinfandel Hayne Vineyard ($70) - CT 92.6, A 23 year old Zin?! According to Vinous it should still have life left in it, The Hayne Vineyard was purchased by Andy Becksoffer (Of To-Kalon fame) a few years ago, it is one of his Heritage vineyards. WA (94-96 barrel sample), "Year in and year out, Turley Cellars’ most concentrated, inkiest purple-colored Zinfandel emerges from St. Helena’s Hayne Vineyard. The 2002 Zinfandel Hayne Vineyard (475 cases; 16.5% alcohol) boasts superb texture, intensity, and power. Spectacular aromas of black raspberries, blackberries, and currants as well as floral notes are followed by a creamy textured, full-bodied, viscous red with remarkable delineation, acidity, and structure for its massive fruit and glycerin. This outrageous Zinfandel is as good as it gets."

2021 Ridge Geyserville ($50) - CT 92.1, JD 93+, Vinous 94+, WS 94 points, "Tightly focused and briary, this blend offers density without weight. Presents plum and blueberry flavors accented by dill and green peppercorn as this builds tension toward medium-grained tannins. 76%
Zinfandel, 16% Carignane, and the rest Petite Sirah and Alicante Bouschet. Drink now through 2032. 9,000 cases made. (drink 2023-2032)"

2020 Martinelli Zinfandel Jackass Vineyard ($110) - It's expensive, especially for a Zinfandel, but it is special!! CT 93.4, Vinous 92 points, "The 2020 Zinfandel Jackass Vineyard is packed with black cherry, game, tobacco and incense. Readers will find a brooding, potent Zinfandel. There is plenty of character, but a bit less in the way of finesse at this stage in what is shaping up to be a pretty brutish Zinfandel. (Drink between 2025-2035)" NOTE: I don't know why but the Wine Advocate skipped this vintage, but gave 94 points or more to the 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 vintages.