This afternoon I again had the honor of joining some of the best wine writers in the world for the beginning of a three day discussion of the craft of wine writing. This is my third year as a speaker and moderator at this event, which features some of the true luminaries of the wine world. This year I, and the other sixty-or-so folks who are attending, will have a chance to share a glass of wine and some thoughts with Eric Asimov of the New York Times, Elin McCoy of Bloomberg, Corie Brown (most recently) of the LA Times, author and educator, Karen MacNeil, Frank Prial (most recently) of the New York Times, author and critic Hugh Johnson, Matt and Ted Lee of Martha Stewart Living, Tyler Coleman of Dr. Vino, and more.

At this year’s conference, I will participate (actually I just did about an hour ago) on a panel called “The Alumni Corner” where a number of us who had attended the conference in the past shared our experiences and some guidance of how to get the most out of the conference. Tomorrow I’ll be co-leading a session on the process and value of blind tasting with Frank Prial, and on Thursday I’m moderating a panel on the future of wine writing, which may take on a bit of a sobering note in the face of so many layoffs in the journalism world.

I’ll be posting a bit here and there from the conference, but if you really are interested in what’s going on, I suggest you check out my Twitter feed, which is where I’ll be posting little tidbits about the conference as it unfolds. Those of you who are serious Twitter users may appreciate the hash mark #spww where several of us are tweeting about the event.

Today I also managed to sneak a little microphone time to conduct an informal survey that someone has managed to do every year of the five years of the Symposium. It consists of two simple questions:

1. How many of you have heard of blogs?
2. How many of you have a blog?

Five years ago the answer to #1 was purportedly (I wasn’t there) about 3 or 4 people out of the 60 writers in attendance. By last year everyone had heard of blogs. This year almost 50% of the people attending have blogs.

Someone suggested a follow up question which was “how many of you get paid to blog” and only about 8 people kept their hand up — most of which were journalists that were asked to blog in addition to their existing writing.

Off to drink with the writers. More to come.

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In this tough economic climate, people are spending less on the discretionary side of their budgets. If you had asked me to make predictions, I would have told you that this would likely have led to fewer people attending this year’s ZAP Zinfandel festival. Certainly market data are showing us that people are buying less expensive wines, and I would have thought that meant spending $69 for a chance to taste a whole lot of Zinfandel would be hard to justify.

But the line snaking around the edge of the parking lot, and the crowds inside proved me entirely wrong this year. While I won’t go so far as to say Zinfandel is recession proof, it might be true that the chance to taste as much of it as you want to in the course of a few hours is just what everyone needed in this fiscal crisis.

It helps that apart from a few exclusive brands, most Zinfandels top-out at $40 a bottle, and most really good ones hover in the $25 to $35 per bottle range. At least that might help explain the hordes of people that (as they do every year) descended upon Fort Mason a couple of weeks ago, filling two huge exhibition halls and bringing a dull roar to that end of San Francisco.

While there didn’t seem to be many less people attending, there were definitely fewer wineries showcasing their wares. It’s easy to understand that in these tough times, wineries might not spring for the price of exhibiting at such events. But while there may have been a few less exhibitors, there was still way too much wine to taste. I took it easy and stopped at around 150 wines, but even if I had another five hours, I wouldn’t have been able to taste even a quarter of the wines on offer.

As many of you know, when I attend these large events, my goal is to taste a lot of wines in order to comparatively score them, rather than making tasting notes about each wine. I educate my palate in the process, and provide (I hope) some guidance for those who are looking to find roses among the thorns, or at least a great wine or two

Note: Many of the 2007 wines below are either barrel samples or just bottled and are not yet available for sale. Most will be available starting in the March/April timeframe. For those top wines that are available for purchase now, I have provided links to find places to buy them online.

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 9.5
2007 Brown Estate, Chiles Valley. $36. Where to buy?
2007 Gamba Maratto, Russian River Valley. $40.
2006 Rosenblum Cellars Lyons Reserve. $45. Where to buy?
2005 Scott Harvey Vineyard 1869, Amador County. $38. Where to buy?
2006 Valdez Simoncini Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley. $35.
2006 Valdez Rockpile Vineyard, Rockpile. $38. Where to buy?
2006 Woodenhead Martinelli Road, Russian River Valley. $45. Where to buy?

WINES SCORING BETWEEN 9 AND 9.5
2007 Amapola Monterosso Vineyard, Sonoma. $55
2006 Cline Big Break Vineyard, Contra Costa County. $26
2006 Dashe Flowers, Dry Creek Valley. $32
2006 Dashe Louvau Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley. $32
2006 Dashe Todd Brothers Ranch, Alexander Valley. $32
2006 Downing Family Vineyards Fly By Night, Napa. $29
2007 Downing Family Vineyards Fly By Night, Napa. $29
2006 Franz Hill, Napa. $32
2007 Gamba Estate, Russian River Valley. $40
2005 Hagafen Prix, Napa. $45
2006 J Rickards Estate, Dry Creek Valley. $22
2006 Kokomo, Dry Creek Valley. $27
2006 Milliare Clockspring Vineyard, Amador County. $??
2007 Orin Swift Saldo. $28
2007 Rosenblum Cellars Maggies Vineyard, Sonoma. $45
2007 Rosenblum Cellars Harris Kratka Vineyard, Alexander Valley. $35
2006 Rosenblum Cellars Rockpile Vineyard, Rockpile. $35
2007 Sandler Buck Hill. $30
2006 Valdez Lancel Creek. $35
2007 Woodenhead Braccialini Vineyard, Alexander Valley. $36
2007 Woodenhead Guido Venturi Vineyard, Mendocino. $30

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 9
2006 Acorn Vineyards, Russian River Valley. $35
2007 Acorn Vineyards, Russian River Valley. $35
2005 Amapola Monterosso Vineyard, Sonoma. $55
2006 Cedarville Estate, El Dorado County. $22
2005 Chase Hayne Vineyard, St. Helena. $45
2006 Chiarello Family Vineyards Giana Vineyard, Napa. $35
2006 Chiarello Family Vineyards Felicia Vineyard, Napa. $50
2007 Cline Ancient Vines, California. $16
2006 Cline Bridgehead Vineyard, Contra Costa County. $25
2006 Cline Live Oak, Contra Costa County. $26
2006 Cosentino Cigar Zin, California. $21
2007 Dashe, Dry Creek Valley. $24
2006 Dry Creek Vineyard Old Vine, Dry Creek Valley. $28
2006 Four Vines The Sophisticate, Sonoma. $27
2006 Four Vines Dusi Ranch. $40
2006 Fritz, Sonoma. $25
2007 Fritz Reserve, Sonoma. $40
2007 Gamba Russian River Blend, Russian River Valley. $35
2006 Harney Lane Old Vine, Lodi. $28
2006 Hartford Family Vineyards, Russian River Valley. $35
2007 Hartford Family Vineyards Hartford Vineyard, Russian River Valley. $55
2005 Howell Mountain Vineyards Beatty Ranch, Howell Mountain. $38
2006 J Rickards Voight, Dry Creek Valley. $24
2007 Kokomo Monts Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley. $28
2005 Mantra, Alexander Valley. $30
2006 Mantra, Alexander Valley. $30
2006 Novy Papera Rach, Russian River Valley. $33
2006 Novy Carlisle Vineyard, Russian River Valley. $34
2005 Ottomino Rancho Bello Vineyard, Russian River Valley. $26
2005 Ottomino Estate Vineyard, Russian River Valley. $30
2007 Saucelito Canyon, San Luis Obispo. $18
1997 Saxon Brown Casa Santamaria. n/a
2005 Scott Harvey Old Vines, Amador County. $38
2005 Spelletich, Amador County. $25
2004 Spelletich, Amador County. $25
2005 Storrs Rusty Ridge, Santa Clara. $30
2005 Storrs Lion Oak, Santa Clara. $34
2007 Tin Barn, Russian River Valley. $27
2007 Tin Barn Dalraddy Vineyard, Chiles Valley. $27
2007 Turley Hayne Vineyard, Napa. $75
2006 Unti Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley. $26
2007 Unti Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley. $26
2007 Vino Noceto OGP Vineyard, Amador County. $28
2006 Woodenhead Braccialini Vineyard, Alexander Valley. $36

WINES SCORING BETWEEN 8.5 AND 9
2005 Acorn Vineyards, Russian River Valley. $34
2006 Charter Oak Monterosso Vineyard, Sonoma. $42
2005 Chateau Montelena, Napa. $??
2006 Cline, Sonoma. $20
2006 Cosentino Estate Ancient Vines, Lodi. $35
2006 D-Cubed Cellars, Napa. $27
2006 D-Cubed Cellars, St. Helena. $32
2007 Dancing Lady, Alexander Valley. $30
2007 Fontanella, Napa. $36
2006 Four Vines Biker, Paso Robles. $22
2006 Four Vines Anarchy. $22
2006 Frank Family Vineyard, Napa. $33
2006 Girard Old Vine, Napa. $??
2006 Hartford Family Vineyards Highwire Vineyard, Russian River Valley. $50
2006 Hendry Blocks 7 and 22, Napa. $30
2006 Howell Mountain Vineyards Black Sears Vineyard, Howell Mountain. $38
2007 Mantra, Alexander Valley. $30
2006 Novy Barbieri Vineyard, Russian River Valley. $34
2005 Ottomino Von Wiedlich Vineyard, Russian River Valley. $34
2007 Outpost, Howell Mountain. $45
2005 Papapietro Perry Elsbree Vineyard, Russian River Valley. $36
2006 Papapietro Perry Pauline’s Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley. $36
2006 Rosenblum Cellars Monterosso Vineyard, Sonoma. $45
2007 Rosenblum Cellars Carla’s Reserve, Contra Costa County. $25
2006 Sandler, Dry Creek Valley. $30
2006 Sausal 90 Year Old Vines, Alexander Valley. $24
2006 Saxon Brown One Oak, Sonoma. $40
2005 Saxon Brown Casa Santamaria. $40
2007 Starry Night Winery, Lodi. $16
2007 Starry Night Winery, Sonoma. $22
2005 Tin Barn, Russian River Valley. $27
2007 Turley Old Vines, California. $25

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 8.5
2006 August Briggs Old Vine, Napa. $32
2006 Bear & Lion Old Vine, Napa. $25
2005 Cakebread, Lake County. $40
2007 Charter Oak Monterosso Vineyard, Sonoma. $42
2006 Cosentino The Zin, California. $21
2006 D-Cubed Cellars, Howell Mountain. $50
2006 D-Cubed Cellars Black Sears Vineyard, Howell Mountain. $50
2006 Four Vines The Maverick, Amador County. $22
2006 Hendry Block 28, Napa. $30
2007 Heritage Oak Block 14, Lodi. $20
2006 Kokomo, Sonoma County. $20
2006 La Czar, Dry Creek Valley. $45
2005 Moss Creek Vineyards. $37
2006 Rockpile Vineyards Cemetary Vineyard, Rockpile. $39
2006 Sausal 50 Year Old Vines, Alexander Valley. $18
2006 Truett Hurst Three Vineyards, Sonoma. $25
2006 Truett Hurst Rattler Rock, Sonoma. $28
2007 Vino d’Angelo, Amador County. $26
2006 Watkins Family Vineyard, Sonoma. $28

WINES SCORING BETWEEN 8 AND 8.5
2005 Calcerous Twisted Sister. $29
2006 Charter Oak Napa Estate, Napa. $42
2007 Cline, California. $12
2006 Dogwood Cellars, Mendocino. $28
2006 Four Vines Old Vine Cuvee, California. $15
2006 Kenneth Volk Vineyards. $36
2006 Lang Oakmont Vineyards, Amador County. $19
2007 Mantra Primitivo, Alexander Valley. $38
2006 Maple Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley. $50
2006 Minnasian-Young Estate, Paso Robles. $22
2006 Watkins Family Vineyard, Sonoma. $28

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 8
2007 D’Arie Winery, Sierra Foothills. $18
2006 Nine x Nine. $12
2005 Sanctuary Vineyards Mariah, Mendocino. $25
2006 Sausal 130 Year Old Vines, Alexander Valley. $35
2007 Three Vineyards, California. $18

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Legend tells us that a Crusader brought Syrah grapes back to France from the Middle East. It’s a pretty story … but unlikely.

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