In March my daughter received acceptance letters to three excellent Big 10 Universities: Ohio State, Illinois and Indiana. (As of this post she will be attending The Ohio State University in the fall; we are very proud of her while also feeling sad to see her go so far away!) We decided last minute to go out and celebrate her good news and she chose a local restaurant called the TruFire Grill. The TrueFire Grill is a high energy restaurant with cozy indoor and inviting outdoor seating with a lovely fireplace for cool evenings. They offer a variety of American cuisine with a Mediterranean/Italian flair as well as what they call a “passionately developed wine program.”

Cline Cellars 2012 Zinfandel: Our wine selection for the evening came from the always delicious Cline Cellars. Cline makes a variety of Rhone style wines and flavorful zinfandels. The 2012 Zinfandel met the nose with a wonderful aroma of dark fruit. On the palate the fruit revealed itself as dark cherries, blackberries, plums and raspberries; followed by earthy spices. It was medium body with the right amount of tannins and acidity to add complexity and pair well with food. We paired the Cline Cellars Zinfandel with two excellent entrées. My husband chose TruFire’s Latin Fire Pizza: tenderloin, bacon, caramelized onion, avocado, Diablo sauce, bacon, three cheeses, roasted jalapeno cream, and cilantro. The pizza was filled with flavor and the wine complimented all of them without overpowering the meal or being overpowered.

I chose TruFire’s meatball sliders: meatballs on garlic rolls with Port Salut, arugula aioli and caramelized onions. It was another winning combination. The pepper of the meatballs met nicely with the spice of Zinfandel while the sweetness of the caramelized onions worked great with the fruit. This was a versatile wine that would pair well with many dishes; offering enough flavor to stand up to heavier meat dishes while at the same time maintaining a fruitiness that would work with less hearty meals as well.

The grapes for the Cline Zinfandel came from the Lodi AVA, a renowned Zinfandel grape growing region. Cline fermented the grapes in moderately warm temperatures in stainless steel tanks to achieve their desired tannin levels. The wine was aged in 35% new French oak barrels of medium toast which allow for the vibrant fruit flavor while adding a hint of vanilla. It contains 14% alcohol; SRP $12.00. The Cline Cellars 2012 Zinfandel has been well distributed; to find it near you click here. I recommend you keep several bottles of this delicious, well priced wine on hand as well as suggest you try other wine from this perennial wine maker. I encourage you to visit the Cline Cellars web site to learn more about the winery and view their entire portfolio of wines.

My song selection: My song selection for Cline Cellars 2012 Zinfandel is Clocks by Coldplay. The reason I have selected this song is because 1) Coldplay is wildly popular, most people (such as myself) like Coldplay; 2) Clocks is a quintessential Coldplay song; as soon as the song begins you recognize the music as Coldplay. This is also true of Cline’s 2012 Zinfandel. Cline Cellars is a well known winery that produces solid wines with each vintage and varietal. The 2012 Zinfandel is not a surprise; rather, it is another hit wine from a hit wine maker.

http://youtu.be/d020hcWA_Wg

Get your own Cline Cellars 2012 Zinfandel and let me know what song you would pair with it! Cheers!