Zinfandel
Pronunciation: Zin-fan-dellWhere it's Grown:The grape had its origins in Eastern Europe and then split off in two directions. Zinfandel to the US and Primitivo in Southern Italy. Even with the same parent these two siblings are quite different, therefore Zinfandel is a uniquely “American” grape varietal.
Zinfandel was until the 1980’s the most widely planted red grape in California and was a constituent in many otherwise labeled wines ie. “Burgundy”.
Zinfandel, as we know it, is grown primarily in two places, California and Southern Italy. However, it is indigenous to neither place as it has its parental home in Croatia. The genetic parent of both Zinfandel and Primitivo (Italian clone) is named Crljenak Kaštelanski, and no don’t ask me for pronunciation. The genetic match to this parent almost did not happen as the Phylloxera epidemic of the late 19th century in Europe killed all but a remaining 9 plants! From these rare survivors we have been able to identify the origins of Zinfandel.
Primitivo, as it is called in Apulia Italy, was first noted in their region in the 18th century. This places it there before coming to the North American continent. The clone’s resulting wine is different than what we see in the US and now we are growing them side by side in California. Resulting wines are intriguingly more introverted in their expression than the American sibling. In Italy the wines are fruity but filled with dried black fruits and notes of earth or leather. The spiced component we find in our California Zinfandels is an undertone in Primitivo. You can find these wines with the varietal prominently displayed on the label.
We most likely received our first Zinfandel cuttings on Long Island in the 1820’s where they were first grown by a nurseryman named George Gibbs. He is thought to have sold cuttings to growers in Boston, since shortly after his visit sales of Zenfandel began. The grape vine he received at his nursery was at the time known as Black Zinfardel which was most likely a corruption of the Hungarian name, tzinfándelí. However it came about the grape became very popular as a table grape was grown in hot houses in Massachusetts to supply Bostonians. Bostonian William Robert Prince, writer of a A Treatise on the Vine, received a second grape from Gibbs that is thought to have been the same vine but through different sources and so differently named, Black St. Peters. Those original two vine supplies continued to be grown as table grapes until Concord was used to replace it which was a much better juice, jam, jelly and table grape.
Black St. Peters made its way to California as Prince, and a second nurseryman Macondray, joined the California gold rush. So what we have in California, now called Zinfandel, was the vine material known as Black St. Peters in the 1830’s. It became widely planted and made very well accepted wines all the way up through prohibition. Once prohibition hit the plantings declined not so much from inability to make wine commercially but because Alicante Bouschet was found to ship cross country better. During Prohibition home winemaking was not illegal and so vineyards shipped grapes around the country to supply this need. Zinfandel did not survive the journey as well as Alicante Bouschet and so plantings were changed.
Thankfully, much of the old plantings of Zinfandel survived prohibition, phylloxera and the Merlot craze. We greatly prize the 80 to 150 year old Zinfandel vines that provide the most intense and characterful wines. Vineyards like Grandpere in Amador County are examples of vines that were planted in the 19th century and are still making amazing wine. These are increasingly rare sources but we cherish them. Zinfandel probably would not have survived the Chardonnay and Merlot planting craze of the 1980’s except for White Zinfandel. This sweet blush wine that Sutter Home and others created answered the demand and popularity of sweet blush options like Lancers.
The challenge of Zinfandel, and therefore the unique flavor, is the strange fruit set and ripening character of the grape. Zinfandel flowers inside any one bunch of potential grapes over 4 weeks which causes very unevenly timed fruit set. As the vine moves toward harvest the bunches are an extreme mix of green grapes ripe grapes and even over ripe grapes. Unless the winery goes through the expense of hand sorting you end up with a range of ripeness that would be generally unexceptable in other reds. The flavor resulting ranges from tart red berries to raisin and prune. Cooler, longer growing seasons like Russian River and Mendocino Country slow down the ripening and help each bunch catch up with itself. These areas make more harmoniously flavored wines. In hotter areas the quantity of raisins increases and pushes up overall alcohol content so that we get those 15.5% abv (alcohol by volume) wines that are so common from the grape.What to expect: Zinfandel will bring a melange of fruit to the glass. In all but the truly excessively ripe wines the range will be red cherry and raspberry, all the way to stewed black cherry and raisin. The coolest aspect of the grape, to my palate, is the inherent spiciness of the wine. Zinfandel naturally carries this white pepper to cinnamon red hot flavor that I just love. Zinfandel should come with the expectation 14% abv,or more, and usually a noticable overlay of caramel and baking spice from the oak barrel aging. This grape is like Shiraz/Syrah because it is very happy with the sappy nature of American Oak and does not need the subtle nature of European cool climate oak.
