The Return of Zinfandel and Burgers

Get ready for Zinfandel and Burgers and Bobby Van's! Since so many group members love this annual event, I'm going to expand it to 10 people!

For this dinner we will SKIP the usual opening white wine so that we can have an ALL RED ZINFANDEL night! We will have 6 Red Zinfandel and Zinfandel blend wines.

We will return to perennial favorite, Bobby Van's on Park for a 7pm reservation. They are located on the corner of E. 46th Street and Park Ave, and the entrance is in the walkway that connects E. 45th and E. 46th Streets.

Here is a link to their menu...
Bobby Van's on Park Menu

Just a reminder of our usual rules:

** The cost of this event is $35 and is for the cost of the wines only.

NOTE: Meetup has started charging a "Partner Fee" that is above and in addition to the listed price of the event. It comes to approximately $4 more for each RSVP. You will see this charge when you complete your rsvp and pay for the event. Sorry! Meetup+ members are exempt from this charge.

You will also have to pay the cost of your food (plus 33% for tax and tip). Please order at least two courses (i.e. a main dish and either appetizer or dessert) for your dinner. There are very few restaurants that allow us to bring our own wine for a Zero corkage fee. We must be good guests to encourage the restaurant to continue to be generous to us.

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.

Please use public transportation - NO DRINKING AND DRIVING!

The Wines :
2022 Ridge Botticelli Vineyard Rockpile ($50) - A blend of 68% Zinfandel and 32% Petite Sirah. Owen Bargreen 94, WS 93 points, "Vibrant and zesty, with multilayered cherry and raspberry flavors laced with river rock, white pepper and dried sage notes that build toward fine-grained tannins" Bargreen noted Chocolate and roasted Figs on the palate.

2022 Ridge Geyserville ($55) - WA 94, JD 95 points, A normal Zinfandel-dominated blend of 67% Zinfandel, 20% Carignan, 10% Petite Sirah, and the rest Mataro, the 2022 Geyserville sports a healthy ruby/plum hue (it's semi-opaque) as well as a rocking nose of ripe plums, blackberries, roasted herbs, pepper, and violets. It's beautifully textured on the palate and has medium to full-bodied richness, a deep, layered mid-palate, and perfectly ripe tannins. It's a beauty, as well as one of the standouts in the lineup. Don't miss it.

2022 Two Vintners Zinfandel Stonetree Vineyard ($36) - A rare WA State Zinfandel! Like some of its CA counterparts, it is high in alcohol, but it never tastes hot. Well balanced. Dark color and a long finish.

2020 Basina Tribidrag ($28) - Tribidrag, the ancestral Croatian variety that has proven, through DNA testing, to be identical to Zinfandel. 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.

2023 Ridge Zinfandel St. Peter's Church Vineyard ($50) – Owen Bargreen 93 points, “The 2023 ‘St. Peter’s Church’ Zinfandel has 5% Petite Sirah blended in. Sourced from this location in Sonoma set on clay and loamy soils, this has terrific tension and brightness once on the mouth. A hedonistic melange of red and dark fruits combine with salty soils, tobacco leaf, kumquat zest and shades of bramble on the palate. Really good now, enjoy over the next ten plus years. Drink 2025-2038.” 14.4% Alcohol.
2002 Turley Wine Cellars Zinfandel Dragon ($40) – Taking a chance with this one, but we might be surprised! WA (92-94) which means it was a barrel sample, from 12/2003, “the 2002 Zinfandel Dragon emerges from a Howell Mountain Vineyard. It is a 325-case cuvee that came in at 16.2% alcohol. With a deep ruby/purple color as well as exotic aromas of blue and black fruits intermixed with white flowers and ground pepper, this distinct, rich, medium to full-bodied, concentrated Zinfandel admirably combines power with elegance.”