Getting Zen with Zin

I spend most of a recent Sunday afternoon knee-deep in sugar, preparing for and supervising my daughter’s birthday party. So after the last guest left – filled to the brim with buttercream-frosted cake, cupcakes, and chocolate that dropped from the piñata – my husband and I went in search for dinner fare that didn’t involve icing.

While he prepared a porterhouse steak in the cast-iron skillet and I finished tossing the salad, I reached for a bottle of Perry Creek Winery’s 2008 El Dorado “ZinMan” Zinfandel to accompany our grown-up dinner. (The girls demolished two cheese pizzas during the party.)

We both loved the ZinMan – and it went incredibly well with the steak. Pairing a cabernet with a steak is a no-brainer, but we both lean toward slightly lighter reds, so the zinfandel proved ideal. In the glass, it appeared deep and rich, with a beautiful ruby tone. It also featured an assortment of fruit flavors, including cherry and raspberry that demonstrated a nice contrast to the steak.

We enjoyed it again the next night, when I prepared pasta Bolognese. The ZinMan, too, paired well with this hearty, rustic pasta dish prepared with ground beef, tomato sauce, and cheese. We also noted that as well as the ZinMan goes with food, it also serves as a wonderful “sipping” wine – always a nice discovery after a hectic day.

You can purchase your own bottle of Perry Creek Winery’s 2008 El Dorado “Zinman” Zinfandel from the California Wine Club. Enter the promo code momcentral at checkout and receive four bottles of wine for the price of two.

Disclosure: Mom Central received a sample of Perry Creek Winery’s 2008 El Dorado “ZinMan” Zinfandel courtesy of the California Wine Club to facilitate this review.

Stephanie Kaufman

Feeling for much of her life that she couldn't sit still long enough to thread a needle and that all in all, she'd rather be reading, Stephanie Kaufman discovered crafting in her late 40s and now loves knitting, sewing, and household decorative arts.