On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 18:17:59 -0500, "Dick R." > wrote:

>Ed Rasimus wrote:

>> I love big California Zins and a few years ago when I was in a Ridge
>> frenzy, I drank various Ridge bottlings with all sorts of stuff. My
>> conclusion was that a big, full, fruity zin can stand up to all sort
>> of abuse. That includes BBQ, Mexican, pizza, lamb, pork loin, almost
>> anything but fish. (Although it did tolerably well on a hot summer
>> evening with a crab Louis.) It's become my generic fall-back wine if
>> a pairing doesn't jump right out at me.
>>
>> I wouldn't do Riesling, but a dry Alsace Gewurz could do the job next
>> time. .
>
>Hi Ed,
>You seem to be another "Zin enthusiast" (I knew that already). :-)
>The best Zin I have is a Cline Ancient Vines Contra Costa 1997. I think
>you've given me an excuse to open that sucker!

Sometimes I have a "Eureka!" moment. Since I almost always lean to a
red rather than white, it suddenly occurred to me that the hot Kung
Pao might be offset by a nicely chilled cru Beaujolais. Brouilly or
Fleurie come to mind. It fits a lot of the issues that have been
raised--not a big alcohol heater, cool on the tongue, stands up to the
spice, not cloyingly or contrastingly sweet. Yeahhhhh, that's the
ticket.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8