Zinfandel has long held the throne as California’s great and unique wine. Recent years have shown a dramatic surge in quality for this full-bodied grape. In 1990, ZAP (Zinfandel Producers and Advocates) was formed, and every year in San Francisco, on the last week in January, thousands of people attend the annual meeting to learn about and taste the newest Zinfandels. Since its earliest plantings in the mid-19th century, Zinfandel has taken on many forms; from its unmistakable flavors of berries and pepper as a single varietal, to the palest pink “White Zinfandel”. The grape perfectly suited to the Californian climate has changed with the times, and continues to be the most planted grape in the State. I set out to discover the greatest Zinfandels and what makes them unique.
First a little about its history; for a vine that is so synonymous with California, it is interesting to note that the true origins of Zinfandel have only come to light in the past six years. What we did know was that it appeared on the coast of New York around 1822. It is possible that the importer kept the name of these mysterious vine-cuttings a secret, or perhaps didn’t know them. By 1852, it had reached the west coast, where it often became the drink of choice for the thousands of miners following the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The completion of the Great Pacific Railroad, coupled with the an economic boom after the Civil War ended, created a huge demand for California wines. Zinfandel quickly became the most popular and requested wine in America. Vineyards were planted as “field blends”, often mixing in a few vines of Sangiovese, Mourvedre, Petite Sirah, Tempranillo, Nebbiolo, or other varietals. Many of the vineyards from this time are still field blends, meaning that many Old-Vine Zins are not actually 100% Zinfandel.
When alcohol became illegal during Prohibition (from 1919 until 1933), Zinfandel remained in high demand as it was used for sacramental wines in churches across the country. It was also popular among home winemakers, who were allowed to buy the raw grapes and make wine at home. During the 1920’s, the dreaded Phylloxera louse swept through California from the south, killing every grapevine in its path. Concerned and fearful growers replanted their vineyards using the resistant St. George rootstock and thus evaded the epidemic. This replanting accounts for the large number of old Zinfandel vines in the 80-90 year age that remain today. But what constitutes old? The United States has never had restrictions governing the use of this word, so Zinfandels using the selling point “Old-Vine” on their bottle could be as young as thirty years of age. While this might be considered old for the grower who planted them in his youth, his neighbor might have vines three or four times that age.
Many people today associate Zinfandel with “White-Zinfandel”, so I feel that I should dedicate a least one paragraph to explain the differences. In 1975, Sutter Home winery experienced a stuck fermentation with a crop, meaning that not all of the sugar in the grape juice was converted into alcohol. It was then set aside, so that they could focus on other batches coming in. Two weeks later, it was tasted and found to be very easy to drink, so it was put on the market. It subsequently out-sold all of Sutter Home’s other wines, so the next year thousands of inexpensive cases flooded the market. Tens of thousands of acres of Zinfandel now grow in the Central Valley, the United States largest wine region. It is stripped of color and flavor, before Muscat and Reisling are blended in to provide aromatics. While many Zin-purists will denounce white-zin, it is important to note the role it has played in transforming the U.S. from the beer drinking country we all knew, to make wine the most popular alcoholic drink in America.
At the other extreme, we are now seeing hundreds of Zinfandels coming out of the Sierra Nevada foothills, a region with one of the longest histories of grape growing. Because of the severe heat (often 110 degrees or over) for a large part of the growing season, some of these wines have alcohol levels exceeding 17%, blocking out all other flavors. These high alcohol wines, and white zinfandel at the other extreme, show the many personalities this versatile grape can take. In a State that boasts literally hundreds of Zinfandel producers, how would I find producers that showcase the very best of my new favorite varietal?
I’ve never had a shortage of friends who like to go wine-tasting, so on a beautiful Saturday in June, a couple friends and I jumped in my truck for a day away from our busy city lives. Years of running a wine tour company and a lifetime of drinking wine have led me to meet several producers, whom I would interview while my companions enjoyed their tasting rooms.
My first stop of the day was Passalacqua Winery in the Dry Creek Valley. This sub-region of Sonoma is known for having the densest concentration of old-vine Zinfandel in the world, with several vineyards over 120 years old! The winery is located on a small knoll in the center of the 16-mile long valley, and the morning sun was just beginning to peak over the hills as I sat down with the owner and winemaker, Jason Passalacqua. One of the first things he told me was that his family had come over-seas from Genova in 1865. Now four generations and three wineries later, Passalacqua produces six distinct Zinfandels, ranging from the light and spicy Russian River Zinfandel to the rich and jammy Old-Vine Zin. What they all have in common, however, is a black pepper spice; a result of the gravel and red clay soil mixture referred to as Dry Creek Conglomerate.
Jason also produces a Primitivo, which he explains is more rot-resistant to the fog so common near the Californian coast. Primitivo di Gioia, which grows in Puglia was proven to be a 99% match to Zinfandel. The main differences lie in cluster size, berry size and spacing, and vine vigor. Zinfandel was thought to have come from Italy in the past, and Italian producers of Primitivo realized that it might sell better in the U.S. under the Zinfandel name. The American government was quick to trademark the name, and to this day, Zinfandel can only come from the United States.
From Passalacqua, which lies on the valley floor, I took highway 128, which winds up into the hills toward Napa Valley. I was to visit Storybook Mountain Vineyards; one of the most beautiful properties I’ve ever encountered, to chat with Jerry Seps, owner and the founder of ZAP. Once a European history professor at Stanford University, he purchased 120 acres on the Napa/Sonoma border after the Handley fire burnt everything to the ground in the mid-1960’s.
The thermometer in my truck read 94º, but in the shade of a 200 year-old Oak tree, and with a nearly constant breeze, we sat comfortably for over an hour. If anyone knows his property well, it’s Jerry Seps: Since planting his first Zinfandel over 30 years ago, Jerry has identified 95 separate zones within his property. Storybook now makes 5 different Zins, including a one named Antaeus, which is mostly Zinfandel, mixed with Bordeaux varietals (what would the French think of this?) and a Zin Gris, a dry rosé reminiscent of something from Provence. When asked about this later wine and what his thoughts are of White Zinfandel, Jerry just smiles at me and exclaims “well, it’s better than wine coolers!” It may not be the highest and best use of the grape, but he does bring up another good point: “it did save many of the old Zinfandel vineyards from being torn up.”
The majority of the Storybook property faces east, keeping the vines out of the direct sun during the hottest part of the day. This, along with a higher elevation, the wind, and pruning techniques Jerry has been experimenting with for almost half his life have created what he believes to be a greater, fresher wine with more longevity. I definitely wouldn’t disagree with that statement, as I noticed a common thread of depth and refined elegance throughout everything I tasted under that ancient oak…
Zinfandel, as with all other wine-producing vines takes four years to yield a quality crop. Grapes produced before this are simply cut off early in the season, in an attempt to re-focus the plants energy toward establishing its roots system. At the eight-year mark, the quality increases again. The so-called “sweet spot”, or best time in terms of quality and quantity is reached at twenty to thirty years of age. After this mark, crop yields will decrease dramatically, as the vine makes fewer and fewer bunches with each subsequent season, although the juice will become more highly concentrated. The vine really starts to struggle at the 110-year mark, yielding only one or two bunches in a season, so at this stage the grower must decide whether to keep his diminishing crop, or to replant altogether.
A few years ago in the town of Oakville, located in the center of the Napa Valley, the Zinfandel Heritage Vineyard was planted. Over ninety different rare and famous Zinfandel clones were brought in from all over the State to be monitored and studied in one location. The idea was to better comprehend how varieties respond to heat and cold, as well as wetter and dryer climates. Although this experiment is far from over, we are now much closer to understanding the importance of matching soil type, rot resistance, and other climatic factors, to the clone best suited for a specific location. Another reason for this study is to produce a superior grape, with a slightly smaller berry size, resulting in a more intense and concentrated wine.
It was now mid-afternoon, and I still had one more winery to visit. I traveled down the hill into the northern Napa Valley to see a friend of mine, Kirk Venge. Kirk produces about a thousand cases of a Zinfandel blend named Scout’s Honor, which I have personally enjoyed for years. Many people are surprised to find that this name does not have any correlation to the Boy Scouts of America, but instead is a reference to the original winery dog, a late golden retriever named Scout. The government states that for any wine to be labeled by its varietal name (such as Merlot or Cabernet), at least 75% must be made from that grape. Otherwise, they must go by the name table wine. Because many people associate “table wine” as inferior, many wineries will come up with alternative names, and as we know, many of the best wines to come out of any region are often blends.
The Scouts Honor blend will differ from year to year, but is usually blended with Petite Sirah, and an older and much less common varietal named Charbono. If ripeness and youthful exuberance is what you are looking for in your wine, Scout’s honor will not disappoint. These grapes are grown on the valley floor and western slopes, which exposes them to a hotter day with more direct sun, and although the label on the bottle reads 15.3% alcohol, the wine is beautifully balanced and does not taste “hot”.
I sat down with Kirk in his small one-room office surrounded by an eight-acre vineyard of young Zinfandel vines to learn what makes this grape different from others. Kirk believes that the best way to grow Zinfandel is the original way – head trained on wooden posts with no wires and with the St. George Rootstock mentioned earlier. He explains that although production is slightly easier once at the winery, Zinfandel in the vineyard can be subject to a myriad of problems. Fruit can be brought in with cracked skins, the crop can be over-ripe, or individual berries can be shriveled within the bunch, bringing up the average brix levels (sugars in the grape). Zinfandel is also notorious as an uneven ripener, always a common subject among producers. Sugar levels within a single cluster of Zinfandel grapes can vary as much as 35%. If a wine-maker was to handpick all of the super-ripe red berries from the bunch, it would be possible to make a wine with almost 20% alcohol!
In 2001, nine old grapevines of a long forgotten variety were discovered in a single vineyard in Croatia. These last survivors, named Crljanek Kastelanski, were only a few years from being torn up and the vineyard replanted. They were brought in for DNA testing and found to be a 100% match to Zinfandel! Since then, a heritage vineyard has been created to save these, as well as several other native Croatian species from being lost forever. American Zinfandel, in almost two hundred years away from it original home, has adapted and mutated to fit California’s climate and soil types. However, I cannot stress enough the importance of finding the original strains, which could very possibly be used to create new hybrids and clones. Furthermore, I would love to see entire vineyards replanted with this historic grape, and I can only hope to see Croatian Crljanek on our store shelves one day.
To learn the history of Zinfandel is to learn the very history of our great State. Wines made from the Zinfandel grape have had to evolve in order to meet the ever-changing tastes of it consumers. It is exactly this ability to adapt that has kept it on our tables and close to our hearts. Zinfandel is poised to grab the spotlight once again and Californians couldn’t be happier.
