Zinfandel has a unique history in America. People have written books about the grape so this is strictly a few of the highlights of Zinfandel's history worldwide and in Sonoma County.
You'll hear Zinfandel called America's grape, America's heritage grape, America's own grape, or California's grape. These are all partially correct, as the history of Zin was a mystery before DNA testing a few years ago.
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| Pagani Ranch Zinfandel, Sonoma Valley First planted in the 1880s then expanded in the 1920s Some vines were replanted in the past ten years |
Confusion over the origin of Zinfandel
Zinfandel is descended from a minor grape in Croatia, Crljenak
Kaštelanski. Yeah, good luck pronouncing that! Also, Plavic Mali and
Tribidrag of that region may also be the same or closely related. It made its way
across the Adriatic Sea to Italy where it's called Primitivo, a very
close relative of American Zinfandel.
In the U.S. it was first called Black St. Peters then eventually Zinfandel. Just another American immigrate with a fuzzy past. Some
credit Agoston Haraszthy, known as the father of California
viticulture, with first bringing it into the state. He did bring many wine grapes in, including Zinfandel, but whether he was the first to plant it in California is unclear.
In some ways, Zinfandel is just another American immigrant with a fuzzy past.
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| If you were old enough to be drinking Zinfandel 40 years ago you knew your Rs: Ravenswood, Rosenblum, Ridge, and their winemakers, Joel Peterson, Kent Rosenblum, Paul Draper Rosenblum's daughter is head winemaker for Ridge's Lytton Springs Winery in Sonoma County |
Chronological history
1829 Zinfandel probably made its way to the East Coast from Europe. There are records of a nursery in Boston having imported grape varieties from Europe, then in 1832 there is documentation of this nursery selling "Zenfendel" as a table grape.
1852 Some believe Agoston Haraszthy imported the first Zinfandel to California from Hungary. Others believe it got here earlier from the East Coast. During the 1850s the Gold Rush pioneers brought nursery items with them, possibly including Zinfandel.
1857 Joseph Osborne wins praise for his Oak Knoll Vineyard (Napa Valley) Zinfandel. This is probably the first California wine labeled as Zinfandel.
1869 The Grandpere Vineyard in Amador County (Sierra Foothills) is first planted with Zin. Now called the Original Grandpere to separate it from any expansion or replanting, you can still find rare bottles from the Zinfandel vines planted in 1869. A national treasure.
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| The Original Grandpere Vineyards, Amador, from 1869 |
1870s First Zinfandel planted in Dry Creek Valley is credited to George Bloch. He was French, not Italian! :) By the next decade there are over 800 acres planted in DCV.
1884 Zinfandel is estimated to be half of the wine grape plantings in all of California.
1895 Seghesio Winery established.
1896 Foppiano Winery established.
1906 Sebastiani Winery established.
1929 UC Davis recommends the planting of Zinfandel for the North Coast region (includes Sonoma & Napa Counties). This is still during Prohibition, but by this time the public was turning in favor of making alcohol legal again. It was time to start replanting to be ready for future demand.
1936 California Grape Acreage Survey estimates there are 53,000 acres of Zinfandel in California, mostly in San Joaquin, Sonoma, and San Bernardino(!) Counties.
1960 There are 4,000 acres of Zinfandel planted in Sonoma County. The next most popular grapes are Carignan and Petite Sirah.
1967 A UC Davis professor visiting Italy realizes the local Primitivo looks a lot like Zinfandel. Primitivo was brought back for analysis and was shown to be the same.
1972 Sutter Home Winery bleeds off some juice from one of their Zinfandels (a common practice to concentrate color and flavors). They bottle it making 220 cases of White Zinfandel. The rest, as they say, is history. Sutter Home makes about 10 million cases a year now.
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| The wine that everybody's had at sometime in their life |
1976 Ravenswood Winery established by Joel Peterson.
1980 There are 4,500 acres of Zinfandel planted in Sonoma County. Cabernet and Zinfandel are tied for the most planted grape in the county.
1990 There are 4,400 acres of Zinfandel planted. There is more Cabernet than Zin, and over twice as much Chardonnay planted. Chard's popularity is booming.
A lot of Zinfandel grapes were going into White Zin. Almost all of California's premium wine production was either White Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, or Cabernet Sauvignon. Zinfandel, as a dry red wine, was not very popular even though it was cheap when compared to other red wines. Some wondered if it would fade into obscurity.
2000 There are 5,100 acres of Zinfandel planted in the county. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot have more acreage than Zin.
2001 UC Davis DNA testing finally proves Zinfandel and Croatia's Crljenak are the same grape variety. This means Primitivo and Zinfandel are also the same variety. They are now considered different clones of the same grape. This leads to the question, how much of Sonoma County's old Zinfandel vineyards are actually Primitivo?
2022 Sonoma County has 4,700 acres of Zinfandel with 2,400 of that in Dry Creek Valley. There are 58,000 acres of wine grapes planted in the county. There are 45,000 acres planted in California, one-third of it is in San Joaquin County in the Central Valley. The predominant wine from these grapes is White Zinfandel.
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| 13.6% vs. 15.5% Alcohol levels in Zinfandel have changed a bit over the years |
Old Vine Zinfandel
Zinfandel vines can live longer than most grape vines plus still produce some very interesting wines. There is no legal definition on what can be called an old vine. Many say the vines have to be at least 50 years old, some have a different opinion. I believe they should be the old style head pruned vines and be planted before 1970.
Common vineyard practice "in the old days" was to interplant other black grapes, like Petite Sirah, Carignan, and Alicante Bouschet. It's called a field blend. So old vine Zinfandel, while mostly Zin grapes, can have one or two of five other grapes in small quantities. Some folks planting in more modern times followed this field blend practice.
Old vine Zin should give you intense colors and flavors. There are many Zinfandel vineyards in Sonoma County over 100 years old. The Lodi area and Amador County also have a lot of old vines. These are special wines.
Primitivo & Zinfandel
Yes, this subject is a bit of a mess with consumers. UC Davis recognizes different clones of Zinfandel vs. clones of Primitivo. U.S. law says you can't call Zin as Primitivo or vice versa on the label, though European law is okay with that. I was looking at a Howell Mountain (Napa) winery's offerings, and they have a "Primitivo Clone Zinfandel." I'm confused.
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| A Croatian "Zinfandel" |
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