When it comes to red wines, Red Zinfandel just doesn’t get any respect.
There’s certainly no love for Zinfandel from the wine critics and wine
snobs. In fact, when people talk about the great wines of the world or
great vintages of this or that, Zinfandel is rarely, if ever, mentioned at all
in the conversation. I suppose there are quite a few reasons for the lack of
respect that Red Zinfandel yearns for. For one, by and large, it is only
grown in great quantities in California. Italy has a few vines planted with
Zinfandel or Primitivo as it is known in Italy, but for the most part, that
country has long forgotten it. I have recently seen and tasted some
Zinfandel that came from Australia and I’m almost certain that those vines
were brought there from California. It is certainly not grown in France,
which is the benchmark for great wine varietals (wine styles), or Spain for
that matter. With such a dismal representation from the Old World Wine
Countries, it’s no small wonder why wine writers and critics haven’t taken
it seriously.
Another problem that Red Zinfandel has had to overcome is that of a poor
image or the term White Zinfandel, not to put too fine a point on it. When
someone mentions the word Zinfandel, the first visual and tastesentual
(My own word) is of that syrupy sweet, Jolly Rancher flavored, insipid
pink liquid, White Zinfandel. That vile substance conjures up all kinds of
negative images in a sophisticated wine drinker’s mind. The mind-blowing
reality though is that if it weren’t for this wine waste by-product (white
zinfandel), Red Zinfandel for all intents and purposes, would have been
long forgotten in California and indeed everywhere else in the world for
that matter.
Zinfandel used to be to California, what Shiraz is to Australia. It grew wild
everywhere! In fact, it’s sort of a native grape to California in that
although it is almost assured that some European settlers from Italy or
Croatia brought the original Zinfandel grapevines over to California, it is a
hybrid of those vines and they are only found in California in any
abundance. The problem was that when California as a whole decided it
wanted to compete seriously with the Old World Wine Regions in both
wine quality and market share, there was too much emphasis put on grape
varietals that were popular in the world at that time, i.e. Cabernet
Sauvignon, Chardonnay, etc… That being said, California Vineyard
owners began tearing up their Zinfandel vines and planting them with the
more popular varietals of the Old World. Zinfandel was all but left for
dead.
Some wineries had a surplus of all these Zinfandel grapes that they Could
not sell because they were no longer in fashion and so they began to put
their creative juices, so to speak, to work and come up with a strategy for
selling off their excess Zin grapes. They decided to make a blush out of
these Red Zinfandel grapes and add some additional sugar, etc… to make
these wines in an easy drinking style that could be sold and consumed
almost immediately after fermentation. The gamble, I would say, really
paid off, because, as I’m sure most of you would attest, names like Sutter
Home, Beringer, Gallo and Franzia sell boatloads of White Zinfandel! This
meant that as sales soared ever higher, more and more acres were being
planted with Zinfandel grapes again.
In the late 80’s and early 90’s, some of our more innovative winemakers in
California, decided to give Red Zinfandel another shot, after all, there was
an abundance of it in California again. It has taken a while to crack into
the skittish wine-buying public’s hearts that distrusted the quality of the
wine, but I believe that all of that changed with the 1997 vintage of Red
Zinfandel. Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon share some similarities
when it comes to the growing seasons. Typically, when there is a great
vintage for Cabernet’s in California, it will usually translate into an ideal
vintage for Zinfandel as well. The 1997 vintage was a landmark vintage
for California Cabernets and Zinfandel came along for the ride too!
Speaking of great Zinfandel vintages, the 2001 vintage of Zinfandel in
California was spectacular. Maybe the best yet!
In 1997, some California Zinfandel’s started winning wine competitions
that were normally won by the more traditional wines like Cabernet
Sauvignon. In fact, this started happening a lot! I remember the 1997
bottle of Rabbit Ridge Zinfandel doing extremely well in the Dallas Wine
Competition a few years back, winning a silver medal. How did this
happen you may ask? In most cases, these wines were judged “blind”,
meaning the wine judge did not know the identity of the wines they were
tasting. This effectively cancelled out the negative stigma of Zinfandel and
leveled the playing field in the wine competitions.
Tragically, the wine writers and critics to this day, still only give Red
Zinfandel modest praise, however, you the wine buying public, say
otherwise. Red Zinfandel sales are on the rise from year to year and the
wines have produced the largest cult following of any wines made in the
world. Don’t believe me? Just check out the Zinfandel Advocates and
Producers website or ZAP as they are known. They are the largest
organized group of supporters for a single grape variety in the world and
their annual festival in California attracts thousands of attendees every
year. Given the fact that other countries like Australia are now producing
their own Zinfandel wines, Red Zinfandel could become the world-class
wine of the future. We bow down to France for their Bordeaux Cabernet
and Merlot and their Burgundy Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. We pay
homage to Italy for their Tuscan Sangiovese and their Piedmont Barolo’s
and Barbaresco’s. In Spain, the Tempranillo grape reigns supreme, but
soon, very soon, the United States and indeed California, will be revered
for their Red Zinfandels the way the Old World is for their classic wine
styles.
One reason for Zinfandel’s new found appeal with consumers is due in part
to its lusty persona. Let’s face it, nothing “loosens lips and sinks ships”
quite the way a wine with a high alcohol content does and Zinfandel
delivers like no other wine style in that arena! Some Zinfandel wines
reach as high as 16.2 percent alcohol per volume. Yikes! Talk about a fun
date! The reason, in part, for Zinfandel’s high alcohol content is due to
their long and finicky ripening season. It takes a very long time for
Zinfandel to ripen evenly and so it is usually picked very late in the
harvest season. Because the Zin grapes hang so long on the vines, the
level of Brix, or in layman’s terms, “sugar” is extremely high and when the
winemaker goes to ferment these Zin grapes, most of that sugar is then
converted into alcohol. Lots of alcohol, which of course, effectively puts
the “Sin” in the “Zin!”
A long ripening season also brings about a wider array of flavors in our
Zinfandel wines. I liken a lot of Zinfandel wines to a Mexican Piñata, I
mean, you never know what you are going to get when you open that
bottle. One Zin might be medium-bodied and very fruity, some are rich
and full-bodied, others are a bit sweet, and some are even rustic and
tannic. The grape is quite versatile in the wines that it produces. You are
almost always assured of a wine that we be full of zesty spices, like pepper,
cedar, bold red fruits like raspberry, cherry or wild berries and even some
dark fruits like blackberries, cassis and black cherries. These Zinfandel
styles and flavor profiles make it a blessing to a wide array of meals and I
think it is one of the most food friendly red wines that California produces.
If you have been drinking Red Zinfandels for a while now, or you are just
starting to drink them often, one term or designation that you will begin to
notice come up over and over again is the phrase “Old” or “Ancient
Vines”. This will usually be found somewhere in the title on the front label
of the bottle. There is a valid reason why Zinfandel producers advertise
this on their wines with great pride. Zinfandel grapes are a real pain in the
rear to grow, or so I’m told. There are numerous differences in the sizes
of the berries growing in the bunch or cluster of Zinfandel grapes on the
vine. This means that these berries or grapes seldom ripen evenly at the
same time, which of course effects the end results of the wine. One way to
get around this is to use Zinfandel grapevines that are between 50 and 100
years old. These “Old Vines” produce less fruit and more evenly sized
and concentrated grapes each year. Thus a higher quality of wine is
made. If you try one of these Zinfandel wines that are designated as being
made from “Old Vines”, you should expect a wine that is very dark, rich
and full-bodied with lot’s of jammy fruits and flavors. If you don’t
experience that, then the winemaker lied!
In short, Red Zinfandel is fun and exciting! It’s a racy and delicious treat
that is ideal for the end of a long workweek. I know personally because
drinking a bottle of Red Zinfandel on Friday evenings is a weekly ritual at
my house. They tend to be great buys because the price to quality ratio is
very favorable to the consumers. You don’t have to spend a bundle to find
a great Zin. There are so many styles and flavors that they are almost
always a crowd pleaser. Just don’t tell your wine snob friends what you’re
serving them! Since Zins are packed with so much “Sin” or alcohol I
should say, they can be a perfect start to a passionate evening. Don’t get
carried away though, if you serve too much Zin, it will be the end of your
perfect evening in a real hurry! Lastly, Zinfandel requires “Older” and
more “Mature” vines to achieve perfection and I don’t know about you,
but I was always told to respect my elders. So let’s recognize Red
Zinfandel for all of its worldly potential to please and tantalite your palate
and by all means, let’s give it some respect!
 |
 |
 |
 |
Varietal/Wine
Style Page
