Burgers and Wine?

by David Turchin
illustration by Calder Chism

Summer is here, and that means it’s time to take the cover off the barbecue, clean out the cobwebs and get it ready for the great American tradition of backyard grilling. And no wine is more American than zinfandel, the quintessential BBQ wine. It goes with anything that fits on the grill — ribs, steaks, even chicken. Zinfandel is the perfect match.

A great zin should have characteristics of brambleberry, dark blackberry fruits, peppery spices and a touch of oak. Though zins can vary from one winery to the next, the true zin flavor should be the dominant taste. Some wineries like to blend in a little petite syrah to give the wine a little more depth and a bigger mouth-feel. I heard about a winery, a number of years ago, that won the gold medal at one of the big wine fairs. Well, it turned out that they did not put the zin in oak barrels to age and pick up the oak flavors imparted by the barrels. Instead, the put it in stainless steel tanks and dumped many bags of oak chips (yes, that stuff we put on our lawns) to give it the oak flavor. They sure did save themselves a lot of barrel costs (a barrel can go for $1,300) but to me, they should have been thrown in jail and charged with larceny.

Recently, some wonderful clients came to visit and wanted me to take them for a wine experience in Northern California. These were true zinaholics, so I set us up for a date with Laurie and Ray Teldeschi. The Teldeschis bought their ranch in Dry Creek Valley in 1947. It was planted with about 50 acres of zinfandel. Laurie and Ray are salt-of-the-earth people who would rather farm than sell wine. They started a small winery called “Del Carlo,” which was his mother’s maiden name. We drove through the vineyard in the original truck his dad had bought to bring their grapes to San Francisco in the 1950s. We drove to where the zin vines were more than 100 years old. The trunks of these vines were bigger than a big tree stump and filled with the first budding of the season.

Laurie and Ray pulled out their new 2006 Del Carlo zinfandel for us to try. Well, this zin was just about as perfect a zin as I have ever had — big, rich, jammy, brambly, spicy and got better and better the longer we let it breathe. My clients’ face lit up with joy and could not believe the quality and flavors and depth of this wine. While we were shooting the breeze about wine and their zinfandel and the family history, Ray decided to give us a lesson in “grafting.” He showed us how he took the bud wood from the 100-year-old vine and held it in cold storage at 34 degrees, then cut a perfect notch with what appeared to be a sharp swiss army knife and put the little nub into the notch. A simple rubberband held it in place. This is how they are able to continue the original rootstock and add more vines.

Well, after three bottles of the zin and 10 jokes, it was time to get back in the old 1950 red truck and head on out. Laurie and Ray only made about 300 cases of this wine, so if you are looking for a great summer BBQ zinfandel, call or e-mail, and I will get it for you for only $32 a bottle.

Until next issue, keep the BBQ going and the golf clubs handy. FG

Need zinfandel suggestions? Contact David at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . David Turchin is proprietor of Wine Direct Selections, a wine brokerage based in Santa Rosa, Calif. For more info or to purchase wines, call 800.964.WINE.

Published in FG Magazine, July-August 2010

AMERICA'S MOST HONORED MAGAZINE AT ING AWARDS
It’s getting to be a habit, and we can’t seem to help ourselves. For the fourth straight year, FG racked up an impressive load of hardware at the International Network of Golf Media Awards announced at January’s PGA Merchandise Show. We scored six awards in all, besting writers and photographers from such national publications as GolfWeek and Sports Illustrated. First-place honors went to Vic Williams in Competition Writing for his piece on Tiger’s historic U.S. Open victory (July-August 2008), Joann Dost for her epic shot of Tiger’s 72nd hole putt on Open Sunday; and Calder Chism for his “Weekend Wisdom” drawing of Vic in the May-June 2008 issue. Outstanding Achievement awards went to Williams and Darin Bunch for Travel Writing. Other FG contributors who took home awards included Tony Dear and Bob Seligman. Next year, look for the clean sweep.