
by Fred McMillin
At San Francisco City College (Ft. Mason campus) we held a large blind tasting of affordable ($15 maximum) bottles with these results.
We called the best our—
NIFTY NINE
|
These three were rated GOOD: | ||
|---|---|---|
| RANK | WINE | DETAILS |
| 9th | MALBEC | Merlot blend, Falling Star, Argentina, 2004, $5 |
| 8th | SHIRAZ | Red Belly, Angove's, Australia, 2004, $12 |
| 7th | SHIRAZ | McLaren Vale, Tyrrell's, Australia, 2002, $11 |
|
These three were rated VERY GOOD: | ||
|---|---|---|
| RANK | WINE | DETAILS |
| 6th | ZINFANDEL | Reserve, Shenandoah of California, Amador County, 2002, $10 |
| 5th | ZINFANDEL | Bargetto, Lodi, 2004, $14 |
| 4th | MALBEC | Don Miguel, Pasternak Imports, 2003, $12 |
|
These three were rated EXCELLENT: | ||
|---|---|---|
| RANK | WINE | DETAILS |
| 3rd | MALBEC | Bodegas Escorihuela Gascon, Pasternak Imports, 2004, $13 |
| 2nd | ZINFANDEL | Shooting Star, Mendocino, 2002, $12 |
| 1st | ZINFANDEL | Heritage Clones, Dry Creek Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley, 2003, $15 |
ZINFANDEL: A 6th, 5th, 2nd and 1st ranking. As in prior studies, this grape makes the best buy reds in the $10 to $15 range.
MALBEC: This just in—ON WINE reader Simone Laplante asked what to taste when visiting Argentina. Of course we said MALBEC. Simone reports the current releases down there are DELICIOUS.
SHIRAZ: We found some excellent bottles but they were above our $15 price limit.
QUESTION: Who first said the wine of SHIRAZ was the best of Persia?
ANSWER: Genghis Khan c.1229 AD. I probably am the only living wine writer who has sipped SHIRAZ wine in the town of SHIRAZ. The year was 1972 and the wine was REELY, REELY robust.
Sign in window of local bistro: Come in before we BOTH starve.

Fred McMillin, a veteran wine writer, has taught wine history for 30 years on three continents. He was voted one of the U.S.A's 22 Best wine writers by the Academy of Wine Communications. For information about the wine courses he teaches every month at San Francisco City College (Fort Mason Division), please fax him at (415) 567-4468.
Copyright © 2007, Fred McMillin. All rights reserved.
This page created October 2007

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