This past May while we were in Napa for ten days, we knew we wanted to make the drive over to Sonoma Valley to check out Kunde Family Winery.  You may recall that I’ve mentioned that Chris and I are going on a Mediterranean Wine cruise in September.  Kunde Winery is one of the hosts, so we wanted to give it a try!

If you are not familiar with Kunde, do yourself a favor and check them out if you are ever in Sonoma.  If you cannot make it there, look for them on the Internet.  Kunde is not a small operation.  They have roughly 1800 acres in Sonona Valley.  The Kunde family started the winery over 100 years ago.

The Kunde sign to the left as you drive into the estate.

As we entered the property, it was very beautiful.  Walking into the tasting room to the right was a very large pond and places where you can sit outside and sip on your wine.

Beautiful patio and pond to the right (Chris and Bill).

The tasting room was very large so Kunde is able to host many people.  The tasting room staff was very friendly and we enjoyed our time there.  To our surprise, our friends Dave and Heather enjoyed the wines so much they became wine club members!

As we were wrapping up our visit, I decided to purchase a bottle of the 2008 Kunde Zinfandel.  The tasting room was sampling this wine and I was really impressed for the price.  The retail price of the 2008 Zinfandel was $18.00.

Recently Chris and I invited Michelle and Jake for dinner.  We grilled some Zesty Cream Cheese – Bacon wrapped stuffed Jalapenos and hamburgers.  I had tasted the Jalapenos earlier and they were a little spicy which I like!  I knew right away they would pair great with this wine.  As Chris was stuffing the Jalapenos I wandered down to our cellar on a hunt for this tasty Zinfandel.

I chose the 2008 Kunde Zinfandel and knew that this was the one.  I grabbed the bottle and headed back up stairs where Chris was preparing dinner.  I put the wine in the cooler to chill it down slightly.

As Chris was pulling the food off of the grill I pulled the bottle out of the cooler.  It was time to grab a few glasses and pull the cork.  Before she had plated the food I was able to take some notes.

I poured the three of us a glass and I started reviewing the 2008 Kunde Zinfandel…

Examining the Zinfandel, I noted the color was a nice Garnet.  It was pretty deep looking – which was kind of a surprise for the price of the Zinfandel.  I did not notice and sediment in the glass nor bottle neck.

Smelling the Zinfandel it was very aromatic.  I noted it was still very young.  Some of the aromas I could smell were spice and dark fruit.

It was time to give it a try.  My initial taste; the Zin was medium bodied.  The tannins where medium and was very flavorful.  They hit my mid palate with a long finish.  I was very intrigued with this wine considering the price.

I rated the 2008 Kunde Zinfandel three glasses.  If I was to compare the Zinfandel to others in the same price range I would compare it to a Cosentino Cigar Zin.

Oh by the way, diner was great too!

Cheers!
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