Sutton Cellars Zinfandel: Hoppe-Kelly Ranch Vintage 2004

Sutton Cellar now provides a Zinfandel unlike any other Zinfandel that you have had before in history. First of all, when I think of Zinfandel, I think a white wine that is slightly fruity and has no puckering affect to the mouth. The results of taste testing this wine were amazing, check it out.

When first coming across this Zinfandel the other day, I was a little confused by the packaging. It stated that it was a zinfandel however when I think of zinfandel I automatically think about the cheap white wines that are available in all general convenience or grocery stores. Sure, there are some good tasting White Zinfandel wines most noted from the Sonoma region in California, but nothing that has much bountiful taste. They are usually like a wine cooler with very little alcohol content.

Sutton Cellar has come out with a new type of Zinfandel that is a red wine. Usually not determined by the color of the grape, to turn a wine into a red or white is determined by the production process. Therefore, this new Zinfandel is in fact a red wine, which is something new to me. It comes from the Russian River Valley which is one of the most popular wine producing regions to increase in growth lately.

The packaging of this red wine is much like other bottled wines except that it is rather dark in color. The color of the bottle is what really confused me because I expected it to be white. So, when I was given the chance, I went straight towards it.

Coming up to the bottle, since it was already opened by someone else just recently, I instantly could smell that it was not a white wine but rather something more. Of course I got excited with the intrigue of something new. It does rather have a woody scent, which most really aged red wines contain. This vintage is only from 2004 though, so it shouldn't have such a strong scent.