Wine @ I-Magery: Zinfandel

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October 18, 2004

Zinfandel

Pronounced [ZHIN-fan-dell]

From the International Wine of the Month Club

The origins of this tremendously versatile and popular grape are still not known for certain, although it is thought to have come from Southern Italy as a cousin of Primitivo. Zinfandel is the most widely planted red grape in California (although Australia has also played around with the grape.) Much of it is vinified into white Zinfandel, a blush colored, slightly sweet wine.

Real Zinfandel, the red wine, is the quintessential California red. It can also be used for blending with other grapes, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah. It has been made in a claret style, with berry and cherry flavors, mild tannins and oak shadings. Zinfandel has also been made into a full-bodied, ultra-ripe, intensely flavored and firmly tannic wine designed to age. In addition, it is sometimes made into late harvest and Port-style wines that feature very ripe, raisiny flavors, alcohol levels above 15 percent and chewy tannins. At its best, Zinfandel can and often does produce shining wines that are ready to drink when only a couple of years old.

From WikiPedia

Zinfandel (Zin) is a red-skinned wine grape popular in California for its intense fruitiness and lush texture. Vintners use Zinfandel grapes to produce a wide range of wine styles including sweet White Zinfandels, light bodied reds reminiscent of Beaujolais Nouveau, full bodied dry reds, sweet late harvest dessert wines, and ports.

Vintners have grown Zinfandel in California in quantity for over one hundred years. Many of the oldest wineries in the state grow Zinfandel and the vines are now treated almost like historic landmarks. The vineyards survived Prohibition because the thick skins of the grape allowed it to survive shipping to home winemakers in eastern states. (Limited home winemaking was allowed during Prohibition as well as the making of sacramental wine.) The invention of White Zinfandel in the 1970s further saved the vines. In the 1990s the market for premium wine increased sufficiently that old vine Zinfandel became valuable on its own.

Wineries in Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Luis Obispo, San Joaquin, Amador, El Dorado, Lake and Santa Clara (Santa Cruz Mountains) counties and in the Cucamonga region of Southern California all produce Zins. Wineries particularly known for their Zinfandel include:

* Castoro Cellars
* Cline Cellars
* Rancho Zabaco Winery
* Ravenswood Winery
* Ridge Vineyards
* Rosenblum Cellars
* Sutter Home Winery
* Turley Wine Cellars

In Italy, the Primitivo grape has been found to be genetically identical to Zinfandel. Primitivo and Zinfandel are thought to two different clones, both originally from Croatia, where it is known as Crljenak Kaštelanski. The link between Zinfandel and Crljenak was discovered through the work of Carole Meredith, a UC Davis geneticist. The Italian wine can be marketed in the U.S. under either name but U.S. zinfandel cannot be called Primitivo in Europe.

Posted by Michael at October 18, 2004 11:42 PM

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