foodwine.com | WineDay | Annex

"A ZIN-CAB TASTE OFF "

by Fred McMillin Prologue The two most widely-planted red wine grapes in California are Zinfandel (50,000 acres) and Cabernet Sauvignon (45,000 acres). I'm going to drink a $15 red wine tonight. Which would taste better, a Zin or a Cab? The Tasteoff There's no doubt that Cabernet Sauvignon can produce a greater wine than can the Zinfandel. However, there is considerable doubt that the Cab is the better buy in the $l0-$20 range. To get an idea, my Scott's panel tasted blind nine pairs of equally-priced Cabs and Zins.     Here are the winners (we'll omit the losers). We show the price of the two wines and how much higher the winner was rated (winner's score minus loser's score). Price of the Pair Winning Margin (Points) WinningVarietal Winning Winery $7 8 Cab '97 Pionero Cab, Chile (by Racke) $12 7 Zin '93 Guglielmo Zin, Santa Clara Vly. $14 16 Zin '94 Belvedere Zin, Dry Creek Vly. $15 3 Cab '93 Staton Hills Cab, WA $15 6 Zin '94 Dry Creek Vineyard Zin $16 4 Zin '95 Davis Bynum Zin, Sonoma County $18 4 Zin '96 Sonora Zin, Amador County $20 7 Zin '95 Steele DuPratt Zin, Mendocino $24 7 Zin '95 La Crema Zin, Sonoma Coast   Conclusion The Zinfandels won seven out of nine matches. I think I'll have one tonight with my pesto pizza. Postscript Which of the 18 wines won Best of Tasting? It seldom happens but we had a tie. The Amador Sonora and the Sonoma LaCrema Zins tied at the top. Both were rated excellent. Note: In addition to the above wines, I paired a couple of duds, along with the question, "Which tastes better?"...I liked the note on Dr. Henry Cohen's ballot, which read, Who Cares!

Presented by The eGG. Copyright © 1998, The electronic Gourmet Guide, Inc. All Rights reserved. foodwine.com | WineDay | Annex