Price: $8.49 at Total Wine

Style: The “Tom” (Medium body and power with some interesting tastes beyond basic fruits.)

Rating: “Good”

Recommendation: “Grab a few bottles”

Review:

We’re starting off the Zinfandel challenge on the right foot!  The Zen of Zin gives you a great nose right out of the bottle with strong candied cherries and some buttercream frosting underpinned with a very subtle touch of white pepper. On the palate, the flavors follow the nose without being overly sweet. The structure is a bit under-powered, and could use a bit more tannic backbone. There’s also some astringency at the front, but this settles very quickly on the mid-palate and becomes smooth and lush. Not a rock star, but all-in-all, a nice bottle at this price.

More info:

Ravenswood is a huge producer of California Zinfandels with around 30 different bottlings listed on their website and designated vineyards all up and down Sonoma.

https://www.ravenswoodwinery.com/

Unfortunately, you can’t really find anything about the Zen of Zin on their site.  And the bottle doesn’t even say “Ravenswood” on the front.  So, I have to assume that this is a much more generic blend of less prestine grapes from across all of Ravenswood’s vineyards.  If you know more about the story behind this specific bottle, let us know!