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We were only able to get our hands on a few cases of today’s wine – so act fast, Operative, before we run out!

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Mission Codename: Riding the Ridge

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Wine Spies Operatives demand great Zinfandel, but they also love a great wine at a great price. Send Agent Red to the Graton Ridge Cellars to retrieve a great Zinfandel – with a great QPR

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Graton Ridge Cellars

Wine Subject: 2007 Zinfandel

Winemaker: Nick Legg

Winery Backgrounder: Reports have been flooding in to Wine Spies Central Command about a unique winery in Sebastopol, California, and their passion for crafting distinctive artisan wines. We sent Agent Red to investigate, and he returned with a handful of cases of today’s wine. Read his tasting notes and mission report below

Varietal Backgrounder: Zinfandel is related to the Italian Primitivo grape, tracing its origin to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kastelanski. Zinfandel is one of the most versatile varietals with the ability to make wines, both rich to fruity, dark to light, and dry to sweet. Sonoma County Zinfandels are among our favorites, and for good reason; So many great California wines are made in this region. Read Agent Red’s tasting notes and mission report below.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deep burgundy with an inky heart, with color that remains concentrated right to the pinkish edges of the wine. This wine has a tight and bouncy surface and thick legs that streak down the glass when swirled

Smell – A deep inhalation delivers a big rush of layered fruits of dark cherry, plum, blackberry, and currant – with follow-on aromatics of spice, sweetwoods and a wonderful earthen component

Feel – Weighty and slightly oblong on the entry, leading to a roundness on the mid-palate, where the wine shows medium tannins that lead to a slight dryness on the tongue and lips

Taste – A near-perfect mirror image of the nose, with bright acidity and additional flavors of cherry cola, very ripe strawberry and soft spice

Finish – Layers of full flavor taper slowly, leaving behind a slight dryness and sweetness that makes your mouth water

Conclusion – A great surprise from this relative newcomer! Graton Ridge has managed to craft a very approachable and fun to drink wine. Long on great flavor and an interesting feel, we enjoyed this bright wine with pizza with pepperoni and anise sausage. It maintained a perfect balance with the food, without overpowering it as many Cali zins can tend to do. This wine was built to be enjoyed with food, but we also enjoyed sipping it on its own, making it a very versatile treat. Special note: Decant this wine for at least 30 minutes for best results. You will be rewarded with softer and more full flavors.

Mission Report:

Sometimes spies have to do things that we are not so proud of. We justify our actions easily, though, especially if the result is the discovery of great wines.

For today’s wine, I had to resort to using an innocent to help me infiltrate Graton Ridge Cellars. I have to admit, it was pretty fun, too.

While enjoying a glass of Zinfandel with Agent Sparkle recently, we overheard a man complaining to his friend that he had no idea where to go wine tasting with some friends that were coming to town. Sparkle and I looked at each other knowingly and she winked at me and then turned to speak with the man.

Pouring on the charm, and putting on a false Texas accent, Sparkle said, “Excuse me. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. We’re on our last day of vacation and we’re leaving town tomorrow. We spent the last few days touring local wineries, and, well, we always hoped to make it back to our favorite, Gratin Ridge. We have these free tasting coupon – do you want ’em?”

He took the bait easily. “Thanks! I work really close to that winery, but I’ve never been in. I’ll go on my lunch hour tomorrow.”

It could not have been better. Now we had a date and a time. I snapped a picture of the guy with my hidden lapel camera, and we were off.

The next morning, I called the winery, introducing myself as “Agent Red”, a move usually reserved for those wineries that already know my true identity. I explained that I was on a mission to find a great Zin, and that I would be visiting them later in the day. They happily agreed to host me for a tasting, declaring that their Zinfandel would impress me. I gave them a description of ‘myself’, by describing our mark from the previous night. They told me they would look out for me.

Agent Sparkle and my donned some simple disguises and made our way to the winery around 11am, before lunchtime. The tasting room was busy, but we found a spot at the end of the bar. We made small talk with the friendly staff, and with the other patrons.

At one point in the conversation one of our fellow tasters, a young woman from Ohio asked, “Has anyone here heard of The Wine Spies?” My heart skipped a beat, but I played it cool. Agent Sparkle seemed unfazed.

In a hushed tone, Sue, our host, said, “One of their senior agents is going to be visiting us today! He should be here any minute.”

With that, a tangible excitement seemed to fill the air. Conversation buzzed. Anticipation mounted. At least my anticipation did.

After a few minutes we heard the doors to the tasting room open. The room fell silent. Footfalls sounded from the entry.

In walked our unwitting asset.

Everyone was staring at him. He stopped in his tracks, wide-eyed. He stood there, frozen, unsure of just what he had walked into.

The silence was broken by Sue. “Agent Red?!,” she asked him.

The poor guy looked shocked. His mouth opened and then closed. He looked over his shoulder, perhaps checking to see how far he was from the nearest exit.

Finally, he spoke. “No…. Ummm, I’m just here to try some wine.”

The tension drained from the room, and Sue motioned him over to the bar, her smile offering the man some reassurance that everything was alright.

Sue explained the situation to the man, telling him that he looked just like a guest that she was expecting – from The Wine Spies. She leaned in toward the man and, in a hushed tone, said, “Its really you, isn’t it, Agent Red? Its okay, I won’t blow your cover.” With this, the man to a step back from the bar, again glancing toward the exit.

The man looked so visibly nervous that I decided to let him off the hook. I had hoped to lead the man to unwittingly get the intel I was after, by employing the Scorce Gambit, but I hadn’t the heart. This poor fellow was simply too shaken.

I stripped off my sunglasses and fake mustache. Agent Sparkle took off her blond wig. The look of wide-eyed recognition in the mans eyes was awesome. “I am Agent Red,” I declared. The man turned white. Agent Sparkle caught his arm as he buckled slightly at the knees. Gently, she guided him back to the bar. She whispered something in his ear, and he calmed visibly.

I had chosen my mark too hastily. On one hand, this was a fun experience. On the other, I could not help but feel a little guilty for using the guy. We did glean some valuable intel, sure, but…. Oh, who am I kidding? This was a hoot! So, too, was the rest of the tasting. We got to know the winery folks and we had a great flight of their wines.

The champ of the tasting was today’s Zinfandel. So was our poor ‘victim’. Don’t feel too bad for the guy, though. We bought him a few bottles to calm his nerves!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of Graton Ridge winery and tasting room can be seen in this satellite photo.