Bucklin Bambino Zin with French Onion Soup #WinePW

Our #WinePW (Pairing Weekend) writers are sharing our favorite Zinfandels with you this weekend.  There will not be a Twitter chat on Saturday.  I am sharing a Bambino Zin by Old Hill Ranch.  It was founded in 1851 and is now owned by the stepfather of the current winemaker!  This is a ten-acre plot of Zin grapes that were planted in the 1990s. 

Our theme is Zinfandel: America's Grape.  I learned that this variety is actually Croatian and genetically related to the Italian Primitivo.  Zin requires warm growing conditions as it has thin skin. Too hot of a climate can cause the grapes to become raisins on the vine. 

This wine is big and hearty, dry, but with a definite fruit-forward taste. This wine is considered drinkable now through the 2030s.  This wine is jammy and plum with blackberry showing up front fading to currants.  I tasted licorice and smoky notes, too.  Delicious wine, highly recommend!

We paired this delicious wine with a bowl of French onion soup that we ordered from a company here in the St. Louis area called Toastface.  During the summer,  Toastface appears on weekends at our local Farmers' Market with fresh breads, granolas, rolls, etc.  They make a fantastic avocado toast that we can't resist.  During the winter months, we are fortunate that Matt and crew are continuing the bread baking and are adding soups for weekend pickup.  Our first week was with the French Onion soup, which was incredible.

(First, I should note that Matt was in my fourth and fifth-grade classes when I was a teacher.  He's always been creative and thoughtful, so I am not surprised that his food is the same.)  

The soup was buttery and with the most fragrant onion broth.  The soup tasted deep and complex, but the ingredients were simple. I believe it was the way Matt approached the onions.  Golden brown with a few hints of deeper sauteed onions. The butter was rich and delicious.  He included slices of his own homemade bread for the croutons and slices of cheese to place on top of the bread.  My husband scraped the bread with a bit of raw garlic, broiled them in the oven, and added the cheese, then broiled it a bit more.  Simply amazing.

If you live in the area, click on the link above to find out more about Toastface!

Here’s what our wine and food bloggers will be sharing:

• Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla is Inspired by Notes of Asian Spices: Braised Spareribs + Brown Estate Zinfandel 2021
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm shares Pasta with Sausage and Eggplant in a Zinfandel Wine Sauce
• Gwendolyn of the Wine Predator is all in with A Vegetarian Feast: “VegTurducken” paired with 5 CA Zinfandels #WinePW
• Terri of A Good Life pairs Bucklin Bambino Zin with French Onion Soup #WinePW
• Martin will share Roasted Salmon Glazed with Brown Sugar and Mustard + 2013 Under The Wire Sparkling Zinfandel Rosé