Wine & Spirits' The Year's Best Syrah and Zin - The Organics Among Them

The February 2013 issue of Wine & Spirits arrived in my mailbox with their top picks for U.S. Syrah and Zin this year...and the usual organically grown powerhouse wineries made the lists.

Storybook Winery predictably placed second (with 94 points) on the Syrah list for its 2009 Napa Valley Estate Reserve ($65).

Grgich Hills' 2009 Napa Valley Estate Grown Zinfandel (biodynamic) ($35) rated 92 points, the same as Storybook's $48 Napa Valley Eastern Exposures Zinfandel.

Frog's Leap's 2010 Napa Valley Zin rated a Best Buy at $27. (Their estate wine is organically grown but the winery says they use grapes from other growers that are organic but not certified, so they can't label it organic).

Storybook Mountain, the only winery with three Zins on the list, also rated 91 points for its 2010 Napa Valley Mayacamas Ridge Zin ($36).

(On the Syrah list, Bob Lindquist of Qupe, a legend for Syrah, had three top wines, but none of them were from his organically certified vineyards.)

Zin Fans Annual Bash: 2013's ZAP Happens (Jan. 31-Feb. 2)

The annual Zinfandel Advocates and Producers Festival (aka ZAP) is coming up a week from now (Jan. 31-Feb. 2) in San Francisco with more than 200 producers attending the Grand Tasting on Sunday.

If you'd like to focus in on the organically grown wines in the Grand Tasting, print out this handy cheat sheet/list and take it with you.

The wineries in bold text are definitely ones to try. The ones with stars are musts.

Bonterra - a certified, reliable Zin you can find in large supermarkets or BevMo stores

***Bucklin - no longer certified but practicing organic on the "Ancient Vines" only - you owe it to yourself to try this heritage vineyard rarity, a field blend of 20+ varietals planted in the mid 1800s.

Carol Shelton Wines (*occasionally has 1 or 2 certified organically sourced Zins - ask about Wild Thing, Monga, and her Rose)

Castoro Cellars (*not sure if any of the certified vineyards are planted in Zin, so ask them)

***Dashe Cellars - McFadden Farm only - a Beaujolais (light) style Zin - you've got to try it to believe it, and then you might be hooked! I have several cases.

Green Truck Wines - certified, superbudget wine

***Grgich Hills Estate - certified organic and biodynamic from the famous Croatian winemaker who helped uncover the mysterious origins of this varietal

***Storybook Vineyards - hands down, the #1 Zin producer in America - and certified organically grown to boot - a hillside Napa Valley legend whose most recent vintages won Wine Spectator's highest Zin scores

The Lucas Winery - all certified organic and from Lodi - a very rare combination! I haven't tried their wines yet, but am looking forward to tasting all their wines.

***Tres Sabores - a Napa Valley gem, and one of the (quietly) famous and superlative (and organically grown) Zins; it made it into the Chronicle's very competitive top 100 wines of 2011. The winemaker grows only 8 acres of Zin in her Rutherford vineyards (prime Cab spot), so it's quite special indeed.

Storybook Wine: Zin Superstar Winemaker Turns 75

Dr Jerry Seps turned 75 last week. He's won every Zin award in the book.

For more info, see here.

This is a good moment to raise a glass - here's to Storybook's Zin, in its many manifestations.

Oh - and a reminder - the winery's annual summer lamb BBQ is coming up soon - July 15. RSVP now.