Zinfandel Wine Grapes, Flavor, Character, History

 

 

Zinfandel wine is considered by many wine lovers to be as American as Baseball, Apple Pie and Motown. But that is not the conclusion reached by the research team at UC Davis when it comes to Zinfandel Grapes. In 1967,  professor Austin Goheen recognized similarities between Zinfandel wine grapes and Primitivo, an Italian wine grape. Research continued and it was discovered that Primitvo was related to the Croatian wine grape, Plavic Male. Carole Meredith, the owner of Laiger Meredith in Napa, using DNA confirmed that Primitivo and Zinfandel were given birth from the same clones and that  Plavac Mali was not Zinfandel. In part, based on this information, Croatian born winemaker Mike Gigrich formed ZAP, Zinfandel Advocates and Producers in 1971. After further study, Zinfandel is clearly Croation in birth, however, its parent is the seldom seen Tribidrag grape.

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Zinfandel wine grapes may have arrived in America about 1820. By 1830, vines were being sold under the name of Zenfendal. In 1835, Zinfandel wine Grapes were gaining in popularity under the name of Zinfindal. The juicy, flavorful, sweet, fruit was being sold as table grapes. That all changed once gold was discovered in California. When news of gold broke out, people packed up their belongings and vines and moved to California.  By the close of the 19th century, Zinfandel grapes were being planted all over California.

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Many of those old vines are still producing fruit, In fact, one of the great things about Zinfandel wine grapes is a lot of the fruit is harvested from vines that are over 100 years old! Like much of the California wine industry, once prohibition  became law, vines were allowed to wither and die.  When prohibition was repealed, Zinfandel fell from favor.

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In 1972, a new type of wine was being marketed by Sutter Home winery.  It was produced using the saignee method of making rose’ wines. Sutter sold the wine under the name, “White Zinfandel.” The wine quickly became immensely popular and Zinfandel began to experience a rebirth in popularity. White Zinfandel sold well  because it was inexpensive and possibly due to the wine being a little sweet. The sweetness came from a fortuitous accident.  In the early 1970′s, white wine grapes were in short supply. To compensate for the consumer demand, winemakers began producing white wine from red wine grapes.  This was accomplished by not allowing much contact between the juice and the grape skins.

 

Sutter experienced a problem, the wine went through a stuck fermentation. This takes places before all the sugar turns to alcohol, which leaves a sweetness in the wine.  Consumers loved it and the popularity of White Zinfandel  skyrocketed!  While experienced wine consumers do not purchase White Zinfandel, due to its low price and high sugar levels, the wine remains popular.It is thanks to the success of white Zinfandel that red Zinfandel eventually regained interesting amongst consumers.

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When ripe, Zinfandel wine exudes ripe, red and black fruits including raspberries, jammy cherries, strawberries and red plums along with spice, pepper and jam characteristics. The wine is high in sweetness and alcohol. Most Zinfandel wine is best consumed within 5 years of the vintage, or less, to preserve its fruit and freshness. While some Zinfandel wine ages, most do not become more interesting with time. Zinfandel wine grapes perform best in hot, dry climates.

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Turley, Carlisle and Ridge are a few of the better known, high quality producers of Zinfandel.