Zinfanatic is devoted to Zinfandel, the most exciting of all wines.  While many varieties of grapes are capable of producing excellent wines, for true Zinfanatics nothing can equal the intense character of a glass of Zinfandel.

Zinfanatic is maintained by Zinfandel fans Parker Stoner and Juanita Jackson-Stoner of Lincoln, Nebraska.  They operate Parstone, Inc. a company that produces Which Wine Is This? wine challenges and The White Wine Game wine and food boardgame.

Our goal with Zinfanatic is to taste, evaluate and report on as many Zinfandel wines as possible.  All wines are tasted blind by multiple Zinfanatics, usually along with other wines from the same viticultural area or in other logical groupings.  Typically, we will report the following for each wine evaluated:

  1. Its preference rank among the group of wines
  2. A numerical rating based on a 100-point scale
  3. A description of the wine’s characteristics

The 100-point rating scale used by Zinfanatic is similar to 100-point scales used by other wine evaluators that use the following general classifications:

  • 95-100                Classic
  • 90-94                  Outstanding
  • 85-89                  Very Good
  • 80-84                  Average
  • 75-79                  Acceptable
  • 74 and Below       Inferior

However, there is one important difference between the Zinfanatic ratings and others.  Most other services set an artificial ceiling of about 93-95 points for Zinfandel wines.  The 95+ ratings are typically reserved for Cabernet-based wines, dessert wines and a few other varietals.  At Zinfanatic, we believe that Zinfandel wines should be rated on their own merit with the greatest of all earning 100 points.

Besides the wine tasting reports, Zinfanatic will provide Zinfandel news and other information.  Additionally, we are open to ideas from readers, wineries and other interested individuals that will make this site more interesting, valuable or fun for our readers.