Rich foods deserve a wine that will enhance flavors

A big wine like zinfandel can stand up to the turkey, stuffing and other great flavors of the Thanksgiving meal.
By BILL DALEY
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Zinfandel is my choice for the Thanksgiving Day table.
I know I'm not in the majority on this. Most experts take their cue from the bird and point toward lighter, softer reds like pinot noirs or syrahs, or buttery whites like chardonnays. I prefer to bow to the side dishes, those bold, well-seasoned greens, potatoes, relishes, stuffings and gravy that are, really, what the Thanksgiving feast is all about.
Zinfandel has the power to hold up to all the different flavors of Thanksgiving. The wine gives a bracing energy to a meal that can easily weigh you down.
So, give the zin time to breathe and pour it into your biggest goblets so guests have plenty of room to swirl, sniff and savor.
Finding the right zinfandel for you shouldn't be hard. This red can cop a variety of attitudes.
Tasting the vintages
Attendees at last month's Chicago Wine and Food Festival tasted the range firsthand if they visited Brian Duncan at the Bin 36 table. He was pouring two zins bottled under the Bin 36 label. The 2002, called "Brian's Blend X," is boldly plush and vigorous in the classic California style. The 2003, just "Brian's Blend," is deeper yet more disciplined with what Duncan describes as a "Bordeaux sensibility."
Remember, too, that a good match sometimes can be made less on an exact flavor pairing and more on symbolism. Zinfandel epitomizes the energy, freshness and optimism of California, where cultivation began in the mid-19th century.
Zinfandel is an immigrant grape made for this (mostly) immigrant nation. Just exactly where it is from has been open to much debate, with most recent scholarship pointing toward Croatia. What is indisputable is that, wherever zinfandel originated, coming to the United States made it a star.
So popular is zinfandel among some wine drinkers that they even have their own group, ZAP, which stands for Zinfandel Advocates & amp; Producers. Some 6,500 "advocates" and 310 producers are members, according to ZAP's Web site.
Thousands eagerly attend ZAP's annual festival in San Francisco for the opportunity to sample hundreds of zins. The group is sponsoring a Mediterranean cruise this spring that includes a stop in Croatia, and there is even a "zinposium" planned for Napa next July.
As they say, only in America ... and a darn good thing too.