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Quivira

Posted in Adventures | Sunday, June 15th, 2008 | 1 Comment » Trackback

Quivira 2005 Zinfandel ($20)

Rating: ♠ ♠ ♠ 1/2

I remember my first trip to Quivira Winery, in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley, sometime in the mid-1990s. It was my first real, extensive wine-tasting trip. It was a warm, sunny afternoon in the springtime. I remember the modest, rust colored barn surrounded by flowers. “Quivira,” I thought. “That’s a funny name.”

Inside we learned it was a name from Spanish conquistador legend, referring to a land they called Quivira Regnum, where the people were said to eat from plates of gold. This rich land the Spaniards never found (though had they the presence of mind to look down while exploring the Sierra foothills, history may have been very different.) 16th century Spanish maps, not exactly noted for pinpoint accuracy, place Quivira Regnum to the north of Baja, between about modern-day Santa Barbara and San Francisco.

That night, loaded up with the tasty wines of Quivira, I had a dream. In it, a people who looked sort of like a cross between Pueblo Indians and Spanish Californios lived in a valley called Quivira, where they rode horses, tended cattle, cultured vines and fought duels. I remember it vividly and in rare moments of reverie still make up little stories about the land and people of Olde Quivira.

So, anyway… I was dining out at the Cliff House last week with a friend and saw the 2005 Quivira Zinfandel in the wine card. I hadn’t had any of Quivira’s wines in quite some time. I was not disappointed. I mean, how easy is it usually to find a wine that goes just as well with your hangar steak as it does with your companion’s fish and chips.

No matter. The Quivira Zin defeated this risky pairing with perfect aplomb. Blended with about 10 percent Petite Syrah and Zins from older, valley floor vineyard and younger ones up top, this sassy little number offers soft tones of dark cherry, blackberry and chocolate. Quivira is lighter and softer than most of your thicker, raisiny Zins from, say, Amador County. This may be an effect of the Petite Syrah blend but, whatever the case, it worked in our meal’s favor, even without the gold plates.

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One Response to “Quivira”

Vinapedia’s Tasting Notes » Blog Archive » Lilly’s Delight Says:
July 13th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
[...] I’ll admit to not having the most refined palate in the world. While I like wine for its own sake, one of the things I love most about it is its rich history, which is why so many pages on this site are devoted to it. Some of my favorite wines, therefore, also come with a good back-story. In fact, a good tale on a fine wine is worth an extra 1/2 spade. [...]

Quivira

One Response to “Quivira”

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