Pardon the Punctuation...When it comes to the full tasting experience in Napa, ZD winery does it right in every way, shape, and form. Right in the heart of the Silverado Trail sits this family owned and operated winery and I love the fact the family is involved in every aspect of their wine making. They epitomize the american dream. I scheduled a "Vineyard View" tasting of current and library wines where each wine was complemented with some cheese action and finished with a yummy chocolate truffle. Upon arriving I was greeted by the friendliest staff in the biz. My host was Emily and she rocked! Super knowledgable and just a pleasure to be around. Emily loves what she does for a living and represents the winery that way. She gave me a tour of the wine library, barrel room, and bottling line. Let me tell you this has to be cleanest winery I've ever been to...and I've been in my share of wineries. Those rooms were probably sterile enough to perform open heart surgery if need be. Anyway at the end of the walking segment of my tour I was treated to and great barrel tasting which was a nice touch. They aren't BS-ing when they call it the "Vineyard View" tasting...Emily guided me up a flight of stairs to a dining room with a stunning view of the vineyard. I could move into that room if they ever need to someone to look over it...like...forever. There was a dining room table set up with wine, cheese, and chocolate. Three of my favorite things. After getting to sample all of these stellar wines, I was blessed with the opportunity of drinking some Abacus. Abacus is one of the rarest wines in Napa and is ZD's "Ultimate Cabernet Sauvignon, combining the best qualities of an aged wine with the best of a youthful wine, together in one sumptuous mouthful." To create this "Solera Style" wine, the winemaker blends every ZD reserve cabernet ever produced and barrels it until bottling. So you are basically tasting over 20 years of reserve vintages layered in one bottle of wine. Holy shit this is the Ferrari of wines. Elegant, refined, and with years of extraordinary pedigree. That kind of TLC gives this wine a $525 a bottle price tag which is worth every penny. If you have the means to get your hands on some I strongly suggest you do. The only warning I have for you is that Abacus is so good it may ruin most other wine for you. I can't reveal how I came to taste this greek god of wines, but I CAN say it's good to be TheYumYumFoodie. :)
