'00 Portteus Zin

Thursday night I played “go ahead grab any bottle you like,” with Bubby. He pulled a 2000 Portteus Zinfandel that Wife and I bought on a trip through the Yakima valley in 2002. (Stay here, and go here). I think we bought it at around $26 and it was amazing. A big, heady red with great integration of black pepper and black fruit, Bubby, Wife, Cop and I all agreed: If you have any drink it, it is drinking perfectly right now. If you know how to get some more, please tell me.

The good news is that, thanks to repeals or changes or redistricting or whatever it took, wineries may now ship directly to consumers in New York. I know not every state has ended its Mafia-like rules regarding liquor distribution, but mine has, so I found Portteus on-line and ordered a mixed case of current vintage wines. Alas, Pataki and the boys got around to changing the rules too late for me to lay in a deep row of ’00 Zin, but at least I can try the new stuff and boy do I intend to.

There are awesome little guys making wine out there, wines where the guys making the decisions are the guys that live on the farm, not some beer company in Australia. You can now support them by buying direct. Try it, your business may give some little guy the ability to resist a buyout offer he otherwise couldn’t and then we will all be a little better off.