Summer's Over

Warm, sunny and a pure delight yesterday, but last night the damp, wet, cold front came through overnight and it is now gray, dingy and drizzly here.  There may be a day or two of Indian Summer yet to come, but for all practical purposes we're close to November, my least favorite month of the year.

We fired up the grill and sacrificed a large rib-eye steak to the grilling gods as a thank you for the summer past.  The wine was a 2006 Mazzocco Maple Vineyard Reserve Zinfandel from California's Dry Creek Valley.  Almost black in the glass, the wine was virtually opaque.  Warm blackberry and dark cherry jam in the nose and those same flavors were there in the taste.  Pure taste of those fruit with some prickly tannins mixed in.  The mouth feel was intense and the flavors just lasted forever.  A well made wine and quite tasty, but it was a bit big for my taste. 

We sipped one glass with the steak and then poured a second glass to go with a chunk of Rogue River Creamery blue cheese from Oregon.  The wine was big enough to be called a near-port and one taste with the blue cheese brought all that home.  Great stuff with the cheese.

15.8% alcohol.  No price since the wine was a gift.