Lucchesi Zins

Yeah, yeah, Zinfandel is not an Italian varietal. But, like Pittsburgh, Sonoma has a significant concentration of Lucchesi, and they love making zins.

I am a member of the Associazione Lucchesi nel Mondo (the Association of people from Lucca of the World), which has a Pittsburgh chapter. Lucca is a walled city in the northwest of Tuscany. You may have heard some local Lucchesi names, particularly in the food business: Tambellini, Barsotti, Poli, Sodini, etc. Last year, I was put in charge of our wine events. We usually do Italian wines, and serve them with a dinner at a restaurant run by one of our members. One does not have to be a member of the organization to attend these wine events.

This time, we are trying something a little different. Sonoma does have a number of Lucchesi wineries that make zin. We will be tasting five of these at Piccolo Forno on Monday, March 8, followed by a BYOB fixed price dinner. The tasting, conducted by the good folks at Palate Partners, will begin at 6:00 PM; the dinner follows at 7:30 PM. One can sign up for only the tasting, or both.

The wines are:

A. Rafanelli Zinfandel (Vintage as sent by the winery, I suspect 2007)
Nalle Zinfandel, 2005
Unti Zinfandel, 2006
Pellegrini "Eight Cousins" Zinfandel, 2005
Martinelli "Guiseppe & Luisa" Zinfandel (Vintage as sent by the winery, I suspect 2007)

Pricing and the menu are being developed, and I will post these sometime next week.

Dominic Branduzzi, the proprietor of Piccolo Forno, is a member of our club, and was actually born in the hospital in Barga, about 25 kilometers north of Lucca, within the province of Lucca. His food is classic Tuscan, including the classic Lucchesi dish, Tortelli, a filled pasta similar to ravioli, with a Bolognese style sauce (with a Tuscan twist, of course). Italian wines pair well with his food.

I have tasted three of the five zins above, albeit different vintages: Rafanelli, Martinelli "Guiseppe & Luisa," and Nalle. Each is excellent. I have not tasted Unti's zin, but I have had some of their other wines. Unti also does quite well. I have not tasted the Pellegrini, but Bob Pellegrini, the owner and winemaker, was instrumental in helping me find Lucchesi wineries in his area, and others in our club who have had his wines have spoken favorably of them.

It should be fun, and the wine WILL be good...

Sounds like fun, and I love zins, but Monday evenings are pretty much out for me.