ZAP Kicks Off Zin-Ful California Event

Dana Nigro
Posted: January 29, 1999

Zinfandel Advocates & Producers kicked off its "8th Annual Zinfandel Festival" on Thursday night. The three days of activities, from Jan. 28 to 30, encompass three separate events: a food-and-wine-matching dinner, a benefit auction and a tasting of new Zinfandel releases and barrel samples.

ZAP, a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting the Zinfandel grape and its wines, was founded by a group of Zinfandel producers and enthusiasts in 1992. Since then, its annual event has grown in popularity, drawing visitors from across the United States and as far away as Germany. Admission to this year's festival is sold out, but 200 tickets for the Jan. 30 Zinfandel tasting will be sold at the door that day starting at 11 a.m. Tickets are $50 each.

On Thursday night, the festival began with "Good Eats & Zin" at Rosenblum Cellars in Alameda, where Bay Area chefs and restaurateurs showed off dishes specifically created to pair well with Zinfandel.

On Friday, the "Blue Jeans to Black Tie Auction & Dinner" features a tasting, dinner and auction to raise funds for continuing research at ZAP's Heritage Vineyard (a collection of Zinfandel clones from different growing regions across California). A few seats were left as of Thursday afternoon; call (707) 939-2821 for reservations.

On Saturday, the Annual Zinfandel Tasting at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco runs from 2 to 5 p.m. for consumers. More than 5,000 people are expected to attend the tasting this year, during which 181 California wineries will pour their wines. Last year, about the same size crowd showed up to taste samples from 151 California Zinfandel producers.

Zinfandel Advocates and Producers
Phone: (530) 432-8964
Fax: (530) 432-4211
E-mail: zaprr@oro.net

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