Benvenuto! Stories from Small Vineyards in Italy

My recent trip to Italy was largely restricted to Roma, which is located in the region of Lazio. The professor shepherding my small group of students suggested we taste mostly Lazio wines, preaching that the difference between a tourist and a traveler is an interest in what their immediate surroundings offer. Tourists would insist on only trying wines from the regions their guide book declared to be the best, while true travelers would immerse themselves in the wines from Lazio, suppressing the urge to drink strictly those from Toscana and Piemonte. Tourist is a detestable name anywhere, and so to avoid being labeled one I stuck with Lazio. They tasted fantastic to my young palate, but nothing like the portfolio Small Vineyards presented yesterday. Read more

Burgundy: Down to Earth

It’s all about the terroir. In Burgundy, wines are known by regions rather than varietal grapes. Experts talk about the region’s 400 types of soil. Vineyards are the focus, not winemakers. And wine experts reiterate the importance and variability of the microclimates within a given vineyard. The end result, of course, has been legendary winemaking that many consider the gold standard. Read more

The Beauty of Zin

The Art of Zin

You have to love a wine that is so entrenched in American culture that despite its Croatian and Italian roots, people literally forgot where it came from and were sure it was wholly American in origin. That is the case for Zinfandel.

Arriving in the United States in the 1820s, Zinfandel now is generally thought to have originated in Croatia where it was known as Crljenak Kastelanski and in Italy as Primitivo. But that was not always the case. In 1967, a University of California-Davis professor who like so many others believed in the wholly American Zin, noticed Primitivo in Italy and researched the wine’s origin more closely. He found a genetic link. However, even this current theory about Zinfandel’s origin is up for questioning as archeological evidence points to similar grapes being grown in the Caucasus region (e.g., Israel, Lebanon) in 6000 B.C.

White or Red?

The funny thing about Zinfandel is that it is most likely known more for its “white” variety than its traditional red wine. In 1975, Sutter Home accidentally invented the white Zinfandel, a semi-sweet to sweet rosé wine, when an experiment went awry as the yeast died off before all the sugar could convert to alcohol. After two weeks of muddling whether they should just toss the wine and start anew, Sutter Home decided it would try to market it much like the Mateus rosé. It became a huge hit and now accounts for nearly 10 percent of all U.S. wine sales by volume – six times more than traditional red Zinfandel. Initially considered a cloyingly sweet wine that only non-wine drinkers enjoyed, white Zinfandel has developed into something with more fruit and less sweet.

Wine Spectator, which recently did a special feature on Zinfandel, describes the white version as both a blessing and curse as so many Zin vines would otherwise have been replaced in the ‘70s in California when people were drinking more white wines than red.

Will the real Zin stand up?

The interesting thing about Zinfandel is that it is so many things. In addition to standing on its own as a single varietal, it is possibly more often blended. Additionally, in some vineyards, they do a late harvest to make a dessert wine from it as well. As Wine Spectator notes, red Zinfandel can range from “supple and elegant to jammy and intense.” That intensity can change from year to year, from region to region, and from vintner to vintner.

And there’s a lot of Zinfandel out there – approximately 50,000 acres in California alone, which makes it the 3^rd most planted wine grape there, following Chardonnay and Cabernet. It’s also grown in 15 other states, as well, but not so much anymore in Europe, oddly enough.

The Popularity of Zin

Perhaps one of the reasons Zinfandel is so popular amongst winemakers is because of its malleability, versatility and possibilities. Its large, tight bunches ripen at different times, making harvesting a challenge. They ripen early and produce juice with high sugar levels, which translate into high alcohol levels as well. They require a warm – not too hot – climate and careful care, much like a Pinot Noir, so that they don’t shrivel on the vine. But it’s the terroir and winemaker’s approach or style that can harness this grape and make wonderful wines with tannins that balance the sometimes 15 percent (or higher) alcohol levels.

According to Decanter’s Joel Peterson, the taste of red Zinfandel hinges on grape ripeness. If a wine comes from a cooler area, it is more likely to taste of red berry fruits. Those from warmer areas will yield something with more blackberry, anise and pepper notes. The kind of Zin you enjoy will dictate the food most appropriate for the wine, with recommendations ranging from poultry or your Thanksgiving turkey to grilled rack of lamb. Because of the variability in Zinfandel, it can be an interesting and fun exploration to find what you like best. That’s why unless you’ve done your research, it’s best to talk with your wine seller to find your own kind of Zin.

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