A Look at Zinfandel

Throughout the history of the United States,  Americans have enthusiastically produced and grown a lot of things.  And, we've  relied heavily on imports, including the grapes for our wine.

The history of American wine grapes is a mix of native North American varieties and hundreds of grapes carried to this country as "suitcase" imports by European immigrants.  

Zinfandel is one of those unique imports that have transcended its origins, to become known as California's own wine grape. 

Zinfandel in a basket

Today, Zinfandel is grown mainly in Sonoma County, Lodi, the Sierra Foothills and Mendocino.  As  Zin became popular, some did stray south of the Golden State to Mexico, and farther afield to Western Australia, South Africa and Chile.

It's not easy to describe the taste of Zinfandel because of the wine's stylistic versatility.  It helps, of course, to know where the Zin comes from and the age of the vines. Young Zin is all about blackberry, black pepper and aromatic spices including cinnamon and clove.  Older Zins, especially from old vines, are more concentrated, nutty, with cedar and mint.  Late Harvest Zinfandel takes concentration to another level, supported by a bit of sweetness.

Zin makers (who very likely could be Zen Masters) believe that Zinfandel has two lives. That is, once the primary fruit fades, after about eight years, there is, to use wine speak, a dumb period, followed by mature flavors of dark fruits, exotic spices combined with oak notes, that can happen after about 15 years in bottle.

I recently had a 1981 Ridge York Creek Zinfandel that was about as good a Zin as I've tasted, still very much alive with a deep ruby color, layered fruit, fine tannin and nicely integrated acidity.  Even after the meal had ended, the Ridge Zin was still a pleasurable drink.  

Coincidentally, a friend opened a 1974 Ridge Geyserville Zin that he described as "nothing short of spectacular."  Both Ridge Zinfandels are a testament to the mastery of Paul Draper then the Ridge winemaker, now retired. 

Plotting Zin History

Arguments have raged for years about the origin of Zinfandel, with some of the early accounts focused on  the spelling of the grape's name.  One version was "Zenfendel," while another claimed it was "Zinfindal."  We know today that research finally settled on Zinfandel. 

Thanks to DNA profiling, we also know that Zinfandel is related to two native grapes grown in Croatia and one in the southern Italian region of Puglia.  Croatian grown Tribidrag and the equally tongue-twisting Crijanak Kastelanski are both related to Zinfandel.  There was even some Croatian chatter about a local grape called Plavic Mali, that is, in fact, a cross of Zinfandel and an obscure local variety.

In 1994, DNA proved that Primitivo, from the Italian region of Puglia, was simply what the Italians call Zinfandel.  Apparently, the grape had somehow made its way west, across the Adriatic Sea to the heel of the Italian boot.   

Puglia: The heel of the boot

The story behind how these grapes from Croatia became associated with Zinfandel is one of dogged research and the application of modern science.  Zinfandel's lineage was initially tracked to Croatia by Carole Meredith, of UC-Davis in California and two Croatian researchers. 

But Primitivo's journey from Italy to California has a different itinerary.  One version has Zinfandel (or Primitivo) being imported from Italy by a nursery on Long Island.  Another claim says Agoston Harazthy brought the grapevine back to California on return from his native Hungary.  The more likely story, however, is that an unlabeled red grape was carried to California by prospectors, hoping to strike it rich during the Gold Rush of 1849.  

Throughout the 20th century, Zinfandel delighted and disappointed wine drinkers.  Fans were happy when Zin was on the rise, spurred on in the 1980s by the phenomenal success of White Zinfandel, even if some avid zinophiles claimed that White Zin was nothing more than a sweetish ersatz rosé.

Thanks to its expanding crowd of fans, supported by Zinfandel Advocates & Producers (ZAP,) the Zinfandel promotional group, Zinfandel continues to give Cabernet Sauvignon, its main red rival, stiff competition.  You can learn more about Zinfandel from the ZAP web site, at  www.zinfandel.org.

 

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