Waving Tree 2007 Zinplify Red Wine

*Bottle #71: Waving Tree 2007 Columbia Valley Zinplify Red Table Wine
*Price Tag: $12
*Running Tab: $985

Back in April of 2008, I thought Waving Tree Winery’s Barbera was the bee’s knees. Albeit, I was honestly and thoroughly impressed with their 2005 $15 Columbia Valley Barbera and I do so love reading old reviews with how innocent I once was…

Now that I’m tarnished, debauched and fully blown with unwarranted snobbery, astoundingly positive verdicts on table wines are far and few between.

It’s like growing up, when all those simple pleasures of childhood now seem silly and juvenile and you long for the days in which those pleasures still satisfied.

And in some cases they do, like Waving Tree’s 2007 Zinplify, a wine described to me by winemaker and owner Terrance Adkins as “mostly Zin with maybe some Cab in there.” Adkins said his daughter was creating the label, wanted a catchy name and BAM – “mostly Zinfandel” red table wine was born as “Zinplify”.

In Washington state, Adkins informed me, a single varietal Zinfandel wine only has to be 85% Zinfandel to slap it on the label. He believes his 2007 red table wine to be somewhere along those lines…

Zin is peculiar because many regions claim to be the varietal’s origin. Croatia, Italy, re-rooting in Mother California, often holding the title as “America’s vine and wine…” It’s all debatable but the point is that Zin is not usually associated with Washington soils.

The vines typically grow best in climates of even keel warmth, not quite in the drastic heat that can shine down from the heavens like it does in Eastern Washington in most summers. The thin-skinned grapes tend to shrivel in extreme heat.

Passing that notion like it were roadkill on Hwy 2, Adkins popped out a “mostly Zin” red table wine, like many other Washington producers (try their neighbor Maryhill’s or Hard Row to Hoe’s in Chelan), that are defying the odds.

Zinfandels are highly recommended to be paired with food since they usually carry high acidity and even higher alcohol content. I find it’s not for reasons to keep you off your lips but more so that the wines themselves are a little more palatable.

Completely unintentionally, I didn’t touch the 2007 Zinplify until I was seated at the table and was digging into my food. But let me tell you, I am a phenomenal cook and this was an excellent pairing. Obviously.

What I like to do is pick the wine, then pick the meal. Since I was set on the Waving Tree, I thought lamb with a mixed berry compote and a side of beets salad would not only look pretty next to the purple stuff but might match its fruity characteristics. Yeah, I know I’ve paired beets with a white wine before on this blog and it’s the same recipe and it’s delicious and I wish you weren’t so judgmental.

Mary Had a Little Lamb and I Ate it With Zinplify Recipe
Mixed Berry Compote:
Bring 1 cup of water to a simmer with 2+ tablespoons of sugar, stirring constantly to build up a consistency for about 3 minutes. Add mixed berries (I used blueberries, raspberries and blackberries) and continue to simmer and stir until thickened and berries have burst. Feel free to add a little milk to cream it a bit. Serve hot.

Lamb:
Rub with chopped rosemary (about 2 sprigs), shallots (1 clove), salt and pepper. Grill for 4 minutes on both sides for medium rare meat. Remove from grill, plate and compote that shiz.

Voila. Dish delish and wine to pine after.

Next to the din a la awesome, Zinplify came ready with dark berries, dried figs, spice and an herbal undertone. Juicy with ripe fruit, the palate had great acid with figs again and blackberries, raspberries to match the compote. Supple tannins allowed for a mellow and simplified mouthfeel… Wait one second…

It simply was what it said it was. A simplified, easy drinking Zin. Such a wine, when consumed without said delicious meal, might loose a titch of its fervor but when Zinplify is drank as it is supposed to be, it’s sole purpose has been fulfilled. So, all things considered…

Score: 7.