Wine for a Cause - Interview with Robert & Susan Hollander Foundation founder Dr. Bob Hollander, Zinfandel aka Primitivo tasting and review (Funding Prostate Cancer research, Trader Joe’s Zinfandel)

Show Notes

Episode 33: Wine for a Cause - Interview with Robert & Susan Hollander Foundation founder Dr. Bob Hollander, Zinfandel aka Primitivo tasting and review (Funding Prostate Cancer research, Trader Joe’s Zinfandel)  00:00

Hello! And welcome to the Wine Pair podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and wine-pairing partner in crime - Carmela. And we are the Wine Pair.

Well, it is good to be back, Carmela. After a week off, we are back. I missed it, Carmela, and I know you missed it. A lot.

For those of you who are new listeners to our Podcast, what we usually do in every episode is taste and review three reasonably priced wines - which means under $20 - that you should be able to find easily in your local store or online. And sometimes we also have interviews with people involved in the wine business in some way. Sol, this week, we are going to do a bit of a combo. First, we are going to share our conversation with Dr. Bob Hollander who started his own charitable foundation called The Robert and Susan Hollander Foundation after he was diagnosed with Prostate cancer. Bob had started making his own wine as a hobby before his diagnosis, but afterwards, he decided to use his love of wine and making wine for good. You’ll learn more today in our episode about what his foundation is all about, what kinds of wines he makes, and how he is trying to do his part to make a difference on this very important subject.

And, then we will taste and review three Zinfandels, also known as Primitivo in Italy, after we listen to the interview.

Now, why are we doing both of these things? Well, first of all, when Dr. Bob reached out to us a few months ago, we were really impressed by his story, and because we are recording this episode to release on Father’s Day, and because there are so many men and families that are impacted by Prostate cancer, including men in our families, Carmela, we thought this was a really great way to show our support, and help our listeners show some support, too.

Secondly, one of the wines that Dr. Bob makes is a Zinfandel, and as part of his foundation, one of the things you can receive when you make a donation is a gift of one of his wines, wines he makes, which is a really cool gift. But, we thought that rather than rating and reviewing one of his wines, we would rate and review some other Zinfandels in honor of the wines that Dr. Bob makes. Because, regardless of our review, we think you should support his foundation if that is something that speaks to you, and while his wines have been recognized and won awards for their quality, we just didn’t feel that tasting his wines was a necessary part of the episode. Dr. Bob will share with you information on how to link to his foundation, and we will also share links in our show notes.

So we will get to our interview with Bob in a minute, but first . . . we have to do our shameless plug, Carmela. First, please consider subscribing to our podcast so that you never miss one of our shows. And, if you like what you are hearing, we would love a rating and review so you can help others find us.

If you want to reach out to us with ideas, or thoughts, or just to talk - you can DM us on Instagram at thewinepairpodcast or contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com.

And, every week we tell you someone we think you should tell about The Wine Pair Podcast, and this week we think you should tell your Uber or Lyft or Taxi driver. You know, the person who gets you from point A to point B when it is just not convenient for you to drive. 

Ok, Carmela, let’s get to the interview. Which, by the way, I had to do solo because you were unable to join, So, you won’t hear the whole pair in the interview. Just me.

Interview with Dr. Bob Hollander on the Robert & Susan Hollander Foundation Wines for a Cause  5:55

Link to The Robert & Susan Hollander Foundation: https://apointoflight.us/

Facebook for the foundation: https://www.facebook.com/apointoflight

Instagram: @2redwinery

2022 Indiegogo campaign to support prostate cancer research: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/2redwines-supporting-prostate-cancer-research-2022#/


Zinfandel and Primitivo Wines for this Episode 27:33

That is a pretty amazing story, don’t you think, Carmela? 

I mean, talk about doing something wonderful when something terrible happens. It is really inspiring to hear about the decision he made to start the foundation. And, again, as we are recording this, it is almost Father’s Day and so we really want to encourage all the men out there to get checked. It’s super important! 

And that’s because prostate cancer, like most cancers, can often be cured when it is caught early. And, we also need to continue funding for people who are trying to find solutions for cancers after someone has been diagnosed. So, kudos to Dr. Bob and we hope you will consider visiting the website and seeing the work that Dr. Hollander does in his foundation, support in whatever way you feel fits you. Again, there are links to the website, Facebook page, and Instagram account in our show notes.

So, Carmela, in honor of the Robert & Susan Hollander Foundation, we thought we would whet your appetites for some Zinfandel wine. What do you think?!?

Now, Zinfandel is a wine that is a little more recent to our regular wine lineup at home. Don’t you think? I don’t remember drinking a lot of Zinfandel before a couple of years ago, do you? What do you think changed things?

a lot of that has to do with a visit to a winery a few years ago that Dr. Bob mentioned in his interview, which is something I did not expect to hear when we met with him. The short story is that Carmela and I went with her parents to visit our daughter in California. My father-in-law, Carmela’s dad, who really is the one who introduced me to wine and taught me about wine, is a bit of snob when it comes to wine, so I wanted to bring him to a winery in the area around our daughter’s college that I thought he might like. So, we went to Turley winery in Paso Robles which is a kind of a cult wine that is highly regarded but hard to find unless you are on the wine list or visiting the winery.

Well, we just had a fabulous time at Turley and fell in love with their wines, and that was really the first time I started to appreciate Zinfandel. Zinfandel is a wine grape that is grown and produced almost exclusively in two places. In the United States and in the US principally in California - in places like Lodi, Sonoma, and Paso Robles - and in Italy in an area called Puglia where it is known as Primitivo. If you are not familiar with the Puglia area of Italy, you should be. It’s where your mom’s side of the family is from, right, Carmela?  Tell us a little about Puglia as you remember it. The big town in Puglia is Bari, and you can think of it like the Achilles area of the boot of Italy. 

Zinfandel is a great red wine for all sorts of people - people who like red wine, and I think people who don’t like red wine - you like it, at least the Tuley wine, don’t you, Carmela? People who like Cabernet Sauvignon like it because it can be very fruit forward and jammy, and people like me who like Chianti like it because it has spicy, tobacco, and berry flavors with good acidity and smooth tannins for such a jammy wine. A good Zinfandel is what we would call a “crowd pleaser” because it can cover so many different types of taste preferences. 

Sometimes, people can be a little down on Zinfandel - did you know that? It’s because Zinfandel wines that are not made with great grapes or that are not carefully crafted can be pretty crummy - they can be overly jammy and what I would call “hot” - because it can be a very high alcohol wine, usually in the 15% range or more. So, while this is true of crappy Zinfandels, if you can find a good Zinfandel, you will find much more round and what I might call pretty flavors with just enough edge of spiciness for someone like me. 

The other thing that is nice about Zinfandels is that good ones, like Turley Zins, can be enjoyed while they are pretty young and, despite their high alcohol, can actually not be “hot.” In fact, sometimes they don’t do awesome when they are cellared too long, and we have griped a bit about people drinking red wines too young, but Zins are a red wine that is an exception. So, tht is fun because while I have harped in episodes about people drinking wine too young, Zinfandel is a wine you can drink young. 

To avoid crappy Zin, and to find a good reasonably priced Zinfandel,  I would recommend looking for old vine Zinfandels from California. If you are a Costco member, look for their Kirkland Brand Old Vine Zinfandel that is like $10 - it’s a great price and a pretty good wine. 

I would always suggest trying to find Turley Zinfandel if you can, although it is not easy, and there is a nice Zinfandel made by an African American owned label called Michael Lavelle wines which you can purchase online at their website for like $23 - we have a link in our show notes, and just note that we are not sponsored by any of these wines, wineries, wine labels, distributors, or anything like that. 

https://sipmichaellavelle.com/ 

Articles

• https://winefolly.com/tips/italian-value-wine-secret-puglia-wine/
• https://www.liquor.com/best-zinfandel-5194429
• https://www.reversewinesnob.com/search/label/zinfandel/

Ok, enough with this jibber jabber - let’s get to it!


Zinfandel and Primitivo wine tasting and review 35:22

Wine: Bogle Family Vineyards Old Vine Zinfandel
Region: California
Producer: Bogle
Year: 2019
Price: $8.99
Retailer: Trader Joe’s
Alcohol: 14.5%
Grapes: Zinfandel
Professional Rating: WE 91

What we tasted and smelled: Berries, black cherry, smoke, jammmy, cinnamon, matchstick, must, clove, stone, spicy.
Food pairing with: Barbecue, grilled foods

Rating:
Joe: 6
Carmela: 6

Wine: Trader Joe’s Reserve Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel
Region: California, Sonoma County
Producer: Trader Joe’s
Year: 2020
Price: $9.99
Retailer: Trader Joe’s
Alcohol: 14.8%
Grapes: Zinfandel

What we tasted and smelled: Plum, Italian plum, cherry juice, prune, smoke, sweetness, rose, potpourri, juicy, spice, wood. Salami. Young. Sweet. Tons of tannin.
Food pairing with: Salty foods. Salty cheese and cured meats. Olives. Tapenade. Goat cheese and beet salad.

Rating:
Joe: 6
Carmela: 6


Wine: Epicuro Primitivo
Region: Italy, Puglia
Producer: Epicuro
Year: 2020
Price: $6.99
Retailer: Trader Joe’s
Alcohol: 14%
Grapes: Primitivo (Zinfandel)

What we tasted and smelled: Tar, rubber cement, pavement. Cigarette butt. Smokey. Sweet. Bad.
Food pairing with: Nothing

Rating:
Joe: 3
Carmela:  3


Which one of these are you finishing tonight?
Carmela: Bogle
Joe: Bogle


Taste profiles expected from Zinfandel and Primitivo:  53:46

• Zinfandel
  • Blackberry, Strawberry, cherry, blueberry, cranberry, boysenberry, licorice, peach preserves, cinnamon, black pepper, sweet tobacco. Can often have a fruit jam taste and smell. 
• Zin from Lodi
  • Raspberry jam, blackberry bramble, hickory, anise
• Zin from Sonoma and Napa
  • Blackberry, black plum, crushed gravel, allspice, white pepper
• Primitivo
  • Strawberry, leather, candied currant, fig, baked blueberry, clay pot, blackberry bramble, dried herb, spiced orange

Outro and how to find us 55:11

As always, thank you so very much for listening to us, The Wine Pair, and you know, while you’re thinking about it, we think you should subscribe and give us a nice rating! 

We would also love to hear from you. Please reach out to us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com, you can email us at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com, you can follow us on Instagram and Twitter, and we would be so happy if you DM’ed us and told us what you think, if you have ideas for future episodes or wines you are curious about or wine styles you are interested in or ways of growing wines you are curious about! And, we hope you tell your friends and family and loved ones and your mom and everyone who ever said anything nice to you about us!

Thanks for listening to the Wine Pair podcast, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine