19th Annual ZAP Fest

One of the biggest, juiciest wine fests of the year is happening later this month in San Francisco: the 19th Annual Zinfandel Advocates & Producers Festival.  ZAP's annual party consists of four events held January 28-30 at which over 200 Zinfandel specialists will pour barrel samples and new releases, pair Zin with food and generally make merry. There is a Grand Zinfandel Tasting Jan. 30; Good Eats & Zinfandel Pairing Jan. 28; Flights: A Showcase of Zinfandels Jan. 29; and an Evening with the Winemakers, also Jan. 29.

Win a pair of tickets to the Grand Zinfandel Tasting from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Festival and Herbst Pavilions at Fort Mason (Marina Blvd. at Buchanan, San Francisco) by commenting at the end of this post about why you love Zinfandel, that quintessential California grape (it actually traces back to Croatia, but that's another story).

A couple of years ago, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that named Zinfandel the state’s “historic wine.” As such, it would have shared official state symbol status with the California Redwood, the Golden Trout, the Grizzly Bear and the Dogface Butterfly. At that time, renowned producer Kent Rosenblum called Zinfandel the " heart and soul of California wine for over 150 years.”