Zinfandel-THE American Grape

What we here in the US of A, as well as the US of California, like to think of as “our” grape really traces its roots back to he European mainland, most likely Austria! According to the Oxford Companion to Wine, it seems possible to trace the importation of Zin to the early 1800s, when it was first planted on the East Coast, including New England. From there it made its way to California around the time of the gold rush, circa 1849. I guess if you had lousy luck prospecting for gold, you could always start growing things, and Zin was one of the best things to grow.

Mr. Z likes warm but not hot climates; Zin ripens more fully when it has a sufficient time to fully develop all the berries on the bunch. But once it is ripe, it does need picking quickly or, as it is a thin skinned black grape, it may turn into Zinfandel raisins. Given its predisposition to ripen berries unevenly, it can be a good idea to makes a couple of passes through the vineyard to get only the ripest berries and leave the slower ripening berries more time to develop.

With tight bunches of grapes, it can be prone to bunch rot and must have dry harvest conditions to be most successful. The yield can be high, so thinning the vines is a necessity for quality wines. The juice can be vinified so many ways: As a white wine; as a “blush wine; as a rose; as a red wine spanning the spectrum from light and fruity to full bodied and tannic capable of extended aging. Some folks also make port style wines from Zinfandel.

The grape is also grown in southern Italy, notably Puglia, “the heel of the boot.” Here it produces a wine with the same essential fruit character of a California Zin but with a more linear, earthy taste. In a real reversal of tradition, it seems, again according the OCW, that the grape was exported from California to Italy, instead of the more common other way around of grapes traveling from Europe to the US.

With a flavor profile of plums, ripe dark berries, black cherries, and moderate tannins, Zin is a truly delicious wine. With some judicious barrel aging it will take on some woody, oaky , and vanilla flavors from the wood and may taste ‘sweet” even though fermented dry. Most Zins are perfectly fine to drink at release time, with some more substantial bottlings capable of lasting four to ten years and even beyond.

There is a group called ZAP which is devoted to Zinfandel appreciation and production. They maintain a small vineyard site in Napa VAlley dedicated to old Zinfandel vines. They also have a conference in San Francisco every year.

Zin is a great wine by itself or with grilled items of all kinds, spicy Southwestern flavored dishes, chili, and hearty deli sandwiches.

Some of the Zins that strike me as being consistently good to excellent quality are, in general price order,low to high: Rabbit Ridge, Renwood, Ravenswood, Bogle Old Vine, Estancia, EOS Paso Robles, Seven Deadly Zins, Ridge Vineyards-Dusi Ranch, Hunt Cellars -Destiny Vineyards.

This is certainly not an exhaustive list but if you are not familiar with Zinfandel there are lots of good starting places here. And don’t forget the Primitivo, either-the Zinfandel Grape Fairy may leave you a lump of coal on St. Swithens Day if you do!