December 2017 Domestic Wine: 2015 Peachy Canyon ‘Incredible Red’ Zinfandel
Fine Wine Source Wine
December 2017
Peachy Canyon:
Founded in 1988 by Doug and Nancy Beckett, Peachy Canyon Winery is a family owned and operated winery in beautiful Paso Robles on California’s Central Coast, near Hog Castle and Big Sur. What began as a 500 case venture has blossomed into an operation that distributes to 48 states, Europe, The Pacific Rim, and Canada. The Beckett’s run the daily operations along with their sons and partners, Jake and Josh (Founders of Chronic Cellars). The biggest news for Peachy Canyon has been the recent addition of accomplished winemaker Robert Henson-previously of Tooth & Nail. After working with critically acclaimed veteran winemaker Michael Michaud (Chalone Vineyards), Henson served as winemaker for a small Santa Cruz Mountains winery where he amassed many accolades before turning his attentions to the Central Coast appellation. Henson plans on applying his passions for balance, varietal, and terroir driven winemaking to Peachy Canyon’s existing award winning winemaking program. Peachy Canyon has been ranked in the top 100 wines in the world by Wine Spectator magazine, and its many wines have been ranked with 90-point-plus scores, often for multiple vintages.
About:
Peachy Canyon’s Incredible Red is one of our favorite Paso Robles producers, and we last featured their 2014 vintage of Incredible Red in May of 2016. We are proud to offer the 2015 Vintage of Incredible Red to close out 2017 as part of our special Holiday Themed December Duo! The fruit for the 2015 Incredible Red was harvested over a period of several weeks to attain ideal ripeness, picked in the early hours of the morning, and destemmed into fermenters. During ferment the juice was pumped over twice a day, and gently pressed after two weeks where it aged for ten months on French, Hungarian and American oak before bottling.
Varietals:
97% Zinfandel, 2% Petite Sirah, 1% Alicante Bouschet
Alcohol:
13.9%
Tasting Notes:
Rich and fruit-forward, the 2015 Incredible Red Zinfandel begins with a subtly smoky nose full of aromas of cedar, cigar box, and red cherry. On the palate, lush flavors of strawberry and cherry mingle with notes of delicate orange blossom, leading to a long, fruity finish.
Food Pairings:
For these cold and snowy think Curry and Spice…Since Zinfandel leans to the sweeter side of red varietals, it’s a great pairing partner with Curry and Spiced BBQ dishes. Try pairing Zin with lighter meats including, Quail, Turkey, Pork, Bacon, Ham, Veal, and Lamb. For the Vegetable side of the table think highly flavored vegetables to bring out the fruitiness in Zinfandel such as roasted tomato, red peppers, caramelized onion, roasted squash, apricot, peach, cranberry, spiced apple, and beets. Spices to include with the dishes are Ginger, Garlic, Rosemary, Curry, Turmeric, Cayenne, Clove, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Cocoa, Black Pepper, Coriander, Fennel, and Saffron. For the Cheeses consider hard and richly flavored cow’s and sheep’s milk cheeses such as Manchego, Bandage-wrapped Cheddar and Trentingrana. There is always the dessert option, pairing with Cheesecake and some delicious Chocolates!
Jim Lutfy’s Thoughts:
Rich, concentrated, and loaded with flavors of fennel & hickory. Great served with BBQ ribs and anything grilled!