From the Cellar
Ravenswood 2004 Vintners Blend Zinfandel (California)
19 Nov 2014- Details
- Category: Uncorked Tonight
(September 7, 2014) ... When you open a wine for cooking it is important to also want to drink the wine. The first time I made beef shanks I used a Michael Smith recipe that called for a full bottle of Zinfandel ... We found the results too boozy, and so this time we used a half bottle and the other half of the liquid, beef stock (more on that in a minute). The shanks had to cook 8 hours, so I had to preserve this old bottle of Zin for longer than that, and without it turning. I had recently been sent something called VinEdge, which is a contraption that has a bag that is attached to a pouring spout and the bag inflates in the bottle as you pour out the wine to take up that space left by the vacating wine. Because I poured out half the bottle before attaching the spout it didn't do what it was suppose to (my bad) ... But I did learn you could inflate the bag by blowing into the air hole at the top of the spout. So now it looked like it should. When I had the wine some 8 and a half hours later I can say that the wine tasted pretty much the same as it did that morning (yes I did try a bit). There was a fair bit of plum still involved in both the nose and taste, but there was also a whole lotta smoky and spicy notes to contend with. As for the shanks, they were better than the first batch but I think next time we'll go with a cup of Zin and the rest beef broth ... Too boozy is never good in a food; too boozy in your glass is the makings of a good night or a bad hangover, depends what you make of it.
