***I received this wine as a sample***

As most of you know, I work for the US Senate, which means that the start of 2011 was also the start of a new Congress.  The first Wednesday in January was a ridiculously busy, but exciting day for me. The new Senators and Congressmen/women were sworn in, and while the oath of office is something we all have to take when we start our jobs, I find particularly moving to watch my boss swear to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”  In the evening, I attended a reception honoring a Congressman I used to work for, and then rushed home to meet up with a group of my girlfriends.

As I mentioned back in December, I have a number of girlfriends that I met online while wedding planning.  One group of girls had an online virtual baby shower a couple of months ago, while another group of my girlfriends held our virtual holiday present exchange after the holiday craziness settled down.  A holiday celebration wouldn’t be right without some wine, so I opened a bottle of Zinfandel to accompany the festivities.

The 2009 Harris-Kratka Vineyard Wine Guerilla Zinfandel (winery) was made with 85% Zinfandel, 10% Carignan and 5% Petit Syrah grapes and was a dark, inky purple.  On the nose, there were blueberries, pomegranates, and pleasant smokiness. In the mouth, there were big berries, accompanied with a touch of tartness and cedar.  The wine had a medium body, low tannins, and high alcohol.

Is this worth a glass after work? It’s worth more than one!  What are you waiting for? At $30, this wine was the perfect choice for the virtual get together.  It had enough body and flavor to enjoy on its own without needing food to tone down the alcohol.  That said, when I drank the wine on night number two with beef stir-fry, it was very food friendly.  Regular readers know my love for big, jammy Zins, and this fits the bill perfectly.  What is particularly nice about this on is that it has great balance and flavor, which makes it drinkable now, but also has a body and structure that will make it nice for cellaring for a few years.  All that said, there were only 268 cases produced, so if you want to grab a bottle, you definitely shouldn’t wait too long.

Price $30
Received as sample
Overall: 4.5 Corks

Happy Valentine’s Day to all you wine lovers!